Sapling at an arboretum in Seattle, Washington [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Foliage, twig, and buds on the above tree [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Foliage, twig, and buds on the above tree [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Sapling at an arboretum in Seattle, Washington [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Foliage, twig, and buds on the above tree [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Foliage, twig, and buds on the above tree [C.J. Earle, 2025.04.13].
Conservation Status
Abies ziyuanensis
Zhiyuan fir; Zhiyuan lengshan [Chinese] (Farjon 1990).
Type: China, Guangxi, Ziyuan Xian, Yinzhulao Shan, elevation 1650-1700 m, Y. J. Liu 78001 (holotype PE). Syn.: Abies beshanzuensis var. ziyuanensis (L.K. Fu & S.L. Mo) L.K. Fu & Nan Li; A. dayuanensis Q.X. Liu; and A. fabri var. ziyuanensis (L.K. Fu & S.L. Mo) Silba. Nuclear DNA analyses have now shown that A. dayuanensis is a synonym of A. beshanzuensis (Yang et al. 2023), while both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA place A. ziyuanensis sister to A. beshanzuensis; both appear to have speciated in the mid-Miocene, as a result of the uplift of the Tibetan plateau (Fu et al. 2019, Xiang et al. 2024).
Trees to 30 m tall and 90 cm dbh, with a straight round trunk and long, horizontally spreading branches. Bark smooth and gray on young trees, becoming pale gray, irregularly scaly, ridged and grooved. Branchlets stout, initially light yellow or brown-yellow, sometimes turning gray-black in 3rd or 4th year, surface ridged and grooved, glabrous or with short hairs in grooves, with circular leaf scars. Vegetative buds ovoid to conical, covered with a coat of white resin resin, the scales triangular, light yellow-brown. Leaves spirally arranged, ascending on upper side of main branchlets, pectinately arranged in 2 lateral sets on lower side and on lateral branchlets, linear, unequal, (1-)1.5-3.5(-4.2) cm × 2.5-3.5 mm, stomata lines in 2 white bands on the lower surface, resin canals 2, marginal, apex emarginate. Pollen cones lateral, in leaf axils, ca. 2 cm long, yellow with red microsporophylls. Seed cones lateral, borne on 5-10 mm long peduncles, green or yellow-green, later dark green-brown, later dark brown at maturity, cylindric-ellipsoid, 7-12 × 3.5- 4.5 cm, rachides persistent. Seed scales at middle of cones flabellate-trapeziform, rarely reniform-trapeziform, 2.3-2.5 × 3-3.3 cm, base auriculate, margin erose-denticulate laterally. Bract scales 21-23 mm long, constricted at middle, distal part spatulate, orbicular, or truncate, apex cuspidate, cusp exserted, reflexed, acute, small. Seeds purple-gray, obtriangular, ca. 10 mm long, 20-24 mm including spotted, shiny, broadly dolabriform wing. Winter buds conical. Pollination May, seed maturity Oct-Nov (Farjon 1990, Fu et al. 1999).
Compared to Abies beshanzuensis M.H. Wu, it has oblong terminal buds, oblong-cylindric (not conical) female cones that are a dark greenish-brown to dark brown when ripe, wider or larger seed scales (especially the exposed abaxial sides), wider apical part of the bract scales (almost round-truncate), and purplish seed wings (Farjon 1990).
China: NE Guangxi (Rongshui Xian, Yuanbaoshan, Ziyuan Xian) and SW Hunan (Xinning Xian, Chengbu Xian). It is confined to mountains at elevations of 1400-1800 m in areas with a monsoon climate. Mean annual temperature of 9.2-12°C, snow from December to March, annual precipitation 2100-2400 mm. A. ziyuanensis occurs with various other conifers in a forest dominated by deciduous broad-leafed trees, e.g. Lithocarpus cleistocarpus, Ulmus pumila and Sorbus bohuashanensis. On Yuanbaoshan, it occurs up to about 1700 m elevation and above that forest dominance shifts to another rare fir, A. yuanbaoshanensis (Fu et al. 1980, Zhang et al. 2024). The species' general rarity appears to be due to Quaternary glaciation, which restricted its distribution and, mainly through low temperatures, its reproductive capacity (Xie et al. 2022). Ecologically, the species appears to be disturbance-dependent; on paired undisturbed and human-disturbed locations there is a near-absence of seedlings and saplings on undisturbed sites, while human-disturbed locations have relatively abundant regeneration although fewer trees in larger size classes (Zhang et al. 2024).
A. ziyuanensis was last evaluated by the IUCN in 2010, at which time it was assessed as "Endangered" due to being known from only 4 locations with a small area of occurrence and "continuing decline in the quality of the habitat due to a number of threats such as landslides and overgrazing by sheep and cattle." The entire species was represented by no more than 2,000 mature trees (Farjon et al. 2011). Research since that time has identified further factors of decline that include climate change, deforestation, and invasion by competing species. Moreover, natural regeneration is slow, habitat fragmentation is ongoing, and artificial regeneration has been difficult, which hampers conservation efforts. Also, since the species seems to be disturbance-dependent, some active management intervention is needed to ensure continued propagation of A. ziyuanensis, and the appropriate techniques seem not to have been developed (Zhang et al. 2024).
No data as of 2025.04.15.
No uses have been recorded (Farjon 2010 and lit. review 2025).
Zhang et al. (2024) present detailed location information for several sites.
The epithet refers to Ziyuan Xian (County) in Guangxi, which contains the type locality.
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.
Farjon, A., Li, J.-Y., Li, N., et al. 2011. Abies ziyuanensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T32320A9696874. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T32320A9696874.en, accessed 2025.04.15.
Fu Li-Kuo, L. Yong-Jun and Mo Sin-Li. 1980. The genus Abies discovered for the first time in Guangxi and Hunan. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 18(2):205-210. Available online at the Journal of Systematics and Evolution.
Fu, Z.-X., X.-Y. Wang, P.-Z. Fan, X.-Y. Tian, and Y.-Z. Shao. 2019. The complete chloroplast genome of the endangered Pinaceae species Abies ziyuanensis and its phylogenetic implications. Mitochondrial DNA Part B 4:137–138.
Xiang, Q., J. Yang, D. S. Gernandt, et al. 2024. Ecological and evolutionary factors contribute to the uneven diversification of firs in the northern hemisphere. Journal of Biogeography: jbi.15055.
Xie, D., H. Du, W.-H. Xu, J.-H. Ran, and X.-Q. Wang. 2022. Effects of climate change on richness distribution patterns of threatened conifers endemic to China. Ecological Indicators 136:108594.
Yang, L., S.-Q. Liang, J. Pan, et al. 2023. Species delimitation and genetic conservation of the endangered firs Abies beshanzuensis and A. ziyuanensis. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology 47:1629–1645.
Zhang, H., Y. Li, K. Xu, et al. 2024. Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the structure, competition, and succession of Abies ziyuanensis communities. Forests 15:1001.
The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.
Tang, Shaoqing; Dai, Wenjuan; Li, Mingshun; Zhang, Ying; Geng, Yupeng; Wang, Li; and Zhong, Yang. 2007. Genetic diversity of relictual and endangered plant Abies ziyuanensis (Pinaceae) revealed by AFLP and SSR markers. Genetica 2007.07.28 : 17661154. Abstract: Abies ziyuanensis is a highly endangered fir species endemic to South China. Unlike other Abies species that are distributed in areas with cold climates, A. ziyuanensis is restricted to several isolated island-like localities at subtropical mountains. In this study, we used dominant amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and co-dominant simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers to infer the genetic structure of A. ziyuanensis. Seven populations consisting of 139 individuals were sampled across their whole distribution. A. ziyuanenesis has a relatively low level of genetic variation, with a mean genetic diversity per population (He) of 0.136 (AFLP) and 0.337 (SSR), which is lower than that of other reported endemic species based on the same kind of marker. We observed high population differentiation, with Gst = 0.482 (AFLP) and Fst = 0.250 (SSR), among the seven populations. AMOVA also detected significant differentiation among populations (φst (AFLP) = 0.550 and φst (SSR) = 0.289) and among regions (φct (AFLP) = 0.139 and φct (SSR) = 0.135) in both marker types. Both ongoing evolutionary forces (e.g., genetic drift resulting from small population size) and historical events (e.g., population contraction and fragmentation during and after the Quaternary glacial cycles) may have contributed to the genetic structure in A. ziyuanensis.
Last Modified 2025-04-15
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