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| Sub-tropical broad-leaved forest belt: areas
below 500 meters in northern Taiwan and below 700 meters in
southern Taiwan |
| Keteleeria davidiana (Franch.)
Beissner var. formosana (Hayata) |
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| Profile |
| Scientific
name: |
Keteleeria davidiana (Franch.)
Beissner var. formosana (Hayata) |
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| Features:
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Keteleeria
davidiana are large evergreen trees capable of growing
up to 35m high with a diameter of 1.5m. Their bark is grayish-brown,
irregularly fissured, and has the appearance of fish scales
when peeling off. Their leaves are linear, flat, and acute,
and are glossy and have midrib ridges on both sides. Male
blossoms are cylindrical and tend to cluster at the end of
twigs; cones are solitary, erect, cylindrical, and oblong,
turning brown when mature; and seeds are winged, oval, and
roughly 1cm long. The wood of the Keteleeria davidiana
is quite oily and is often used for constructing buildings. |
| Habitat: |
There
are only two to three species of Keteleeria davidiana
in the world, and these only occur in Taiwan and the Chinese
mainland. Keteleeria davidiana (Franch.) Beissner var.
formosana (Hayata) are endemic to Taiwan and quite rare, with
only a few natural groves of them on the ridges and slopes
at 400-700m elevations in the mountainous areas near Pinglin
in northern Taiwan and Dawu in southern Taiwan. A precious
tree protected by Taiwan law, Keteleeria davidiana
are so few in number that they cannot even form a continuous
distribution belt. |
| Low-Altitude
Areas>Flora>Keteleeria
davidiana (Franch.) Beissner var. formosana (Hayata) |
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