''Sciadopitys verticillata'', the or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...

to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Sciadopitys'', a

living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living foss ...

with no close relatives. The oldest fossils of ''Sciadopitys'' are from the Late Cretaceous of Japan, and the genus was widespread in Laurasia during most of the Cenozoic, especially in Europe until the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58sister group to a clade comprising

Taxaceae Taxaceae (), commonly called the yew family, is a coniferous family which includes six extant and two extinct genera, and about 30 species of plants, or in older interpretations three genera and 7 to 12 species. Description They are many-bran ...

and Cupressaceae, and has an extremely ancient divergence, having diverged from the rest of the conifers during the early mid-

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

; this would also make it a survivor of the

Permian–Triassic extinction event The Permian–Triassic (P–T, P–Tr) extinction event, also known as the Latest Permian extinction event, the End-Permian Extinction and colloquially as the Great Dying, formed the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods, as ...

. There is inconsistent evidence regarding the plant family which produced

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than ...

. Both macrofossil and microfossil evidence suggest a ''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'' relative, whereas chemical and infrared microspectroscopy evidence suggest relatives of either '' Agathis'' or ''Sciadopitys''.

Etymology

The genus name ''Sciadopitys'' comes from Greek () meaning 'umbrella' and () meaning 'pine'. The species name ''verticillata'' is a descriptive epithet meaning ' whorled'.

Description

It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

that can grow 15–27 m tall, with brown main shoots bearing whorls of 7–12 cm long flexible green cladodes that look like, and perform the function of, leaves, but are actually composed of stem tissues. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are 6–11 cm long, mature in about 18 months, with flattish scales that open to release the seeds.

History

The plant was first introduced to the UK by John Gould Veitch in September 1860. Considered attractive, this tree is popular in gardens, despite its slow growth rate. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. A stylized representation of the tree (known in Japanese as ) was chosen as the Japanese Imperial crest for the

Akishino is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and the younger son of Emperor emeritus Akihito and Empress emerita Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title and has headed his own branch of the im ...

branch of the Imperial Family.

Gallery

File:Sciadopitys verticillata cones Rogów.jpg, ''Sciadopitys'' carpellate cones and dried needles File:Sciadopitys verticillata3.jpg, Staminate cones and needles File:Sciadopitys verticillata (leaf).jpg, Needles File:Sciadopitys verticillata s2.jpg, Full tree in Mount Futatsumori, Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

References

External links

Arboretum de Villardebelle Photos: foliage, immature cones

American Conifer Society

Conifers of UBC

Flavon's Wild herb and Alpine plants {{Taxonbar, from=Q161648 Pinales Monotypic conifer genera Endemic flora of Japan Trees of Japan Plants described in 1784 Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Threatened flora of Asia Vulnerable plants Carnian first appearances Extant Late Triassic first appearances Five sacred trees of Kiso Cupressales