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Scientific name: Taxus chinensis (Pilg.) Rehder 1919
Synonyms: Taxus baccata var. chinensis Pilg., Taxus baccata var. sinensis A.Henry, Taxus cuspidata var. chinensis (Pilg.) C.K.Schneid., Taxus sumatrana subsp. chinensis (Pilg.) Silba, Taxus wallichiana var. chinensis (Pilg.) Florin
Common names: Chinese yew (English), Hong dou shan (Chinese), Thong do Bac (Vietnamese)
Shrubs or trees to 20 m tall, trunk of trees monopodial, to 1(-1.5) m d.b.h. Bark thin, exfoliating in strips or irregular flakes, variously coloured, reddish or purplish brown or grey. Branches numerous, ascending to erect, then spreading or drooping, forming a spreading, rounded or pyramidal crown. Foliage branchlets irregularly alternate, slender, terete, with fine grooves alongside decurrent leaf bases, green turning yellowish green to ochre or bronze coloured. Terminal buds small, ovoid, with imbricate, closely appressed, rounded, dark brown scales which are early deciduous, lateral buds frequent, dormant. Leaves on lateral shoots more or less distichous, sometimes slightly overlapping, short lanceolate to oblong, (0.8-)1.5-2(-2.3) cm long, twisted at short petiolate to nearly sessile base, straight or curved near base, 2-3.2 mm wide, thick and coriaceous, convex. Margins flat in fresh leaves, more or less abruptly ending in a mucronate or sometimes obtuse apex. Leaf colour lustrous dark green above, yellowish green with two pale yellowish bands below. Stomata in two bands on abaxial side, densely and randomly distributed. Pollen cones axillary, solitary, forming rows on either side of fertile shoots, ovoid, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, short pedunculate with dry, yellowish green to pale brown, increasingly larger bracts at base, axis slightly elongating at anthesis. Microsporophylls 8-14, peltate, each with 4-6(-8) partly fused pollen sacs on underside, creamy white or pale yellow. Seed-bearing structures axillary, solitary or sometimes in pairs, distributed on underside in distal part of foliage branchlets, sessile, with tiny triangular scales covering a very small dwarf shoot and a single terminal ovule except the micropyle. Aril green at first, covering lower half of seed, swelling to succulent red or orange (often more or less translucent) and overtopping seed, leaving its apex free, cup-like, 10-13 mm long, 7-10 mm wide. Seeds ovoid or obovoid, slightly flattened, with two obtuse ridges and a small mucro, 5-8 × 3.5-5 mm, green turning brown or black.
In China this species has been recorded from the following provinces: Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, S Gansu, N Guangxi, Guizhou, W Hubei, NE Hunan, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, E Yunnan, Zhejiang. It is also known from Hagiang, Hoa Bingh and Son La in northern Vietnam; 1,100-2,700 m.
Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered
Taxus chinensis has undergone a large population reduction (more than 50%) since the 1990s as a result of the discovery of the importance of this species for treating cancer. There are attempts now to propagate this species to meet the demand, however, exploitation of wild plants is likely to continue but probably at a lower rate than before. The species is listed as Endangered.
The population in China is estimated to be around 800,000 individuals, of which there may be up to 80,000 mature individuals scattered over a large area. In Vietnam the subpopulation is very small. The number of mature individuals is known to be decreasing throughout its range and there is little regeneration. Generation lengths are estimated to be at least 40 years based on this species' slow growth rates and longevity (1,000 years).
Taxus chinensis occurs in evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests, frequently along streams. Its altitudinal range in China is from 1,100 m to 2,700 m a.s.l. The undergrowth is often dominated by bamboo thickets. In Vietnam, it occurs in the northern limestone karst formations on steep slopes and on ridges in subtropical to tropical evergreen forest at altitudes between 900 m and 1,500 m a.s.l. Here it is associated with the conifers Pseudotsuga sinensis, Pinus fenzeliana (syn. Pinus kwangtungensis), Fokienia hodginsii, Tsuga chinensis, Podocarpus pilgeri, Nageia fleuryi, and more locally Cupressus vietnamensis. There are numerous small-leaved angiosperm trees and shrubs and an abundance of epiphytes due to high rainfall and frequent fog. This species does not form dense stands in any part of its range and tends to be sporadic in its occurrence in forests.
Exploitation has reduced the population in many areas of China although the species is still wide-spread. Logging and deforestation in Vietnam may have had a bigger impact as populations there are small; it may have reduced the species to some extent to the less accessible places. Exploitation of its bark and foliage for chemical/medical purposes has caused this species to be listed on CITES Appendix II. Harvesting can only be sustained from plantations, as indiscriminately stripping trees of bark and foliage kills the tree. In China such plantations have been established in several places. The species has poor regeneration, hence any exploitation would deplete the population.
The wood of this species is used in China in construction, cooperage, for the making of furniture, and for wood carving and turning. In Vietnam it is also used for irrigation paddles in rice fields. Extracts of many parts of the plant (roots, wood, bark and leaves) are used in traditional Chinese medicine, while in modern times it has been exploited for the production of anti-cancer drugs such as Taxol®) which are derived from the bark and leaves. The seeds contain oils which are also extracted, but treatment is required to neutralize the poisonous alkaloids. In horticulture it has been used in bonsai and to a limited extent as a garden shrub. It is doubtful whether this species is in cultivation outside China and Vietnam.
In China, this species (under the name of Taxus wallichiana var chinensis) is listed as a Category 1 protected species means that exploitation is prohibited. It has also been nationally assessed as Vulnerable on the China Species Red List. All forms of harvesting wild plants was specifically banned in 2003. In Vietnam, this species is listed on Appendix II of the Decree NO. 3212006lND-CP (Government of Vietnam 2006) that covers the management of endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals. As a result its exploitation for commercial purposes is restricted. Internationally, this species is listed on CITES Appendix II. Plantations have been established in China with the aim to harvest foliage for pharmaceutical purposes. It is also known from a number of protected areas throughout its range.
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
