Description
Genus Torreya
Trees
dioecious. Bark
brown to grayish brown, tinged with orange, fissured
. Branches spreading
to drooping
; twigs
nearly opposite. Leaves mostly appearing 2-ranked, rigid
; stomates abaxial
, in 2 narrow, glaucous, whitish or brownish bands
; apex sharp-pointed, spine-tipped, sharp to touch; resin canal central. Pollen cones ovoid
or oblong
, with 6--8 whorls of 4 sporophylls, each bearing 4 sporangia. Ovules 2, only 1 of each pair maturing. Seed maturing in 2 years; aril green or green with purple streaks, resinous
, leathery, thin, completely enclosing woody seed coat
, splitting
into 2 parts at maturity; albumen ruminate
. x
= 11.
Species 4(--6) : North America, Asia in China and Japan.[1]
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Plants
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Vascular Plants
- Class:
Pinopsida
()
- Order:
Pinales
()
- Family:
Papilionoidea
()
- Genus:
Torreya
()
- Arnott, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1: 130. 1838.
- Torreya, stinking-cedar [After John Torrey (1796--1873), distinguished U.S. botanist]
- Specific epithet:
grandis
- (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) Silba
- Variety:
yunnanensis
- Botanical name: - Torreya grandis var. yunnanensis (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) Silba
- Variety:
yunnanensis
- Specific epithet:
grandis
- (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) Silba
- Genus:
Torreya
(
- Family:
Papilionoidea
(
- Order:
Pinales
(
- Class:
Pinopsida
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Torreya fargesii var. yunnanensis (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) N. Kang
- Torreya yunnanensis W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Farjon A., 11-Jan-2006
Similar Species
Members of the genus Torreya
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 28 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
T. bilinica · T. bogotensis · T. caespitosa · T. californica (California Torreya) · T. grandiflora · T. grandis (Chinese Nutmeg Tree) · T. grandis var. fargesii · T. grandis var. grandis · T. grandis var. jiulongshanensis · T. grandis var. yunnanensis · T. jackii · T. montana · T. nancyana · T. nucifera (Japanese Torreya) · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. var. grandis Pilg. · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. var. igaensis (Doi & Morikawa) Ohwi · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. var. macrosperma (Miyoshi) Koidz. · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. 'Prostrata' · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. var. radicans Nakai · T. nucifera (L.) Siebold & Zucc. var. sphaerica Kimura · T. nucifera 'Spreadeagle' · T. nucifera 'Variegata' · T. nuda · T. ornata · T. paniculata · T. parvifolia · T. taxifolia (Florida Torreya) · T. taxifolia Arn. 'Argentea'
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Farjon, A. 2001. World Checklist and Bibliograpy of Conifers. 2nd edition. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Farjon, A. et al. 1998. Data collection forms for conifer species completed by the IUCN/SSC Conifer Specialist Group between 1996 and 1998.
- Li-kuo, F. and Jian-ming, J. (eds) 1992. China Plant Red Data Book – Rare and Endangered Plants 1. Science Press, Beijing.
- Mill, R.R. 1994. Annotations to Conifers - taxa listed on BG-BASE - status report as of 2 February 1994.
- Buchholz, J. T. 1940. The embryogeny of Torreya, with a note on Austrotaxus. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 67: 731--754.
- Burke, J. G. 1975. Human use of the California nutmeg tree, Torreya californica, and of other members of the genus. Econ. Bot. 29: 127--139.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Conifer Database 2006.
- Conifer Specialist Group 2000. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 19, 2008.
- Conifer Specialist Group 2000. Torreya grandis var. yunnanensis. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
- The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
Identifiers
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Con-3982
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14708230
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:956146-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 956146-1
- IUCN ID: 44050
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1027520
Footnotes
- "Torreya". in Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
