''Phoebe zhennan'' is a large species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

, up to tall, in the genus '' Phoebe'' of the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

. The name "Zhennan" is the transcription of one of the tree's Chinese names, . It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where it occurs in

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

, and

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

provinces. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, and so is under second-class national protection in China. In the past, wood from this tree, referred to as ''

nanmu Nanmu () is a precious wood that is unique to China and South Asia, and was historically used for boat building, architectural woodworking, furniture and sculptural carving in China. The Ming dynasty-era writings indicate this wood as superior dur ...

'' in China, was so valuable that only royal families could afford their use. Notably, whole logs of ''Phoebe zhennan'' wood were used to create pillars for the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

The wood is particularly valuable when it has become semi-fossilized, and is then referred to as Wu Mu, or "Black Wood". The price on the 2012 market could be as high as over $10,000 per cubic meter.

References

zhennan Endemic flora of China Trees of China Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Laurales-stub