Abies kawakamii

(Hayata) Itô 1909

Common names

台灣冷杉 [Chinese] (Huang 1994), Kawakami fir (Silba 1986), Taiwan fir (Liu 1970).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: A. mariesii Mast. var. kawakami Hayata 1908.

Description

Trees to 16 m tall and 100 cm dbh with single, straight trunk and whorled horizontal branches. Bark smooth and resinous, gray-white, becoming gray-brown and scaly. Branchlets deeply grooved, yellowish-gray to dark brown, with brown pubescence. Buds ovoid, very resinous, brown to reddish, scales obtuse, to 1 mm. in diameter. Leaves linear, flat, 10-15 mm long, dark green above, whitish below, with some stomata on the upper surface near the rounded to notched apex. Pollen cones cylindrical, to 15 mm long. Seed cones oblong to cylindric, 6-7.5 × 3.5-4 cm, maturing purple, bracts hidden (about 1/2 length of seed scales), seed scales fan-shaped, 15-18 mm long. Seeds 7-9 mm long plus a 9 mm wing (Silba 1986, Huang 1994). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Distribution and Ecology

Taiwan: widespread at 2,800-3,000(-3,950) m elevation in the central ranges, usually forming pure stands (Huang 1994). Reported occurrences in the area 120°51'E to 121°19'E by 23°13'N to 24°28'N, in Abies-Juniperus-Rhododendron shrub forest and Yushania stands. Found in Sheipa, Yushan, and Taroko National Parks (HAST 1999). Hardy to Zone 6 (cold hardiness limit between -23.2°C and -17.8°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.02.22.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2023.02.22.

Observations

Shei-Pa, Taroko and Yushan National Parks look like good places to see it.

Remarks

The epithet honors Japanese botanist Takiya Kawakami (藤井 清太郎, 1871-1915), who collected the type specimen on Yushan.

Citations

Herbarium of the Research Center For Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei [HAST]. 1999. Database output at http://www2.sinica.edu.tw:8080/hast/eindex.html, accessed 1999.03.15, now defunct.

Itô T. 1909. Encyclopedia Japonica 2:167.

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.

Farjon, Aljos. 1990. Pinaceae: drawings and descriptions of the genera Abies, Cedrus, Pseudolarix, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, Tsuga, Cathaya, Pseudotsuga, Larix and Picea. Königstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.
- Provides a detailed account, with illustrations.

Farjon (2010).