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

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

, and the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

. It is the sole living member of the family

Sciadopityaceae Sciadopityaceae, commonly called umbrella pines, are a family of conifers now endemic to Japan but in prehistoric times they could also be found in Europe and China. The sole living member of the family is ''Sciadopitys verticillata'' (the kōyam ...

and

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Sciadopitys ''Sciadopitys'', commonly called umbrella pines, is a genus of a unique conifers now endemic to Japan. The sole living member of the family Sciadopityaceae is '' Sciadopitys verticillata'', a living fossil. The oldest fossils of ''Sciadopitys'' ...

'', a

living fossil A living fossil is a Deprecation, deprecated term for an extant taxon that phenotypically 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 or ...

with no close relatives. The oldest fossils of ''Sciadopitys'' are from the Late Cretaceous of Japan, and the genus was widespread in

Laurasia Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around ( Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pa ...

during most of the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

, especially in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

until the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

, according to some studies.

Taxonomy

Molecular evidence indicates that Sciadopityaceae is the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

comprising

Taxaceae Taxaceae (), commonly called the yew family, is a coniferous family (biology), family which includes six Extant taxon, extant and two extinct genera, and about 30 species of plants, or in older interpretations three genera and 7 to 12 species. ...

and

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae or the cypress family is a family of conifers. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecio ...

, 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 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. There is inconsistent evidence regarding the plant family which produced

Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

. 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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

'' relative, whereas chemical and infrared microspectroscopy evidence suggest relatives of either ''

Agathis ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside ''Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

'' 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

Sciadopitys verticillata is a slow-growing

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

conifer native to

. It typically reaches 10–15 m (33–50 ft) in cultivation, though larger specimens may occur in the wild. The species is characterized by reddish-brown

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

that peels in vertical strips and by its distinctive foliage, which consists of whorled, glossy, dark green

phylloclade Phylloclades and cladodes are flattened, photosynthetic shoots, which are usually considered to be modified branches. The two terms are used either differently or interchangeably by different authors. '' Phyllocladus'', a genus of conifer, is na ...

—modified stem structures that resemble needles—measuring 6–13 cm (2.5–5 in) in length. These phylloclades are arranged in umbrella-like clusters at the ends of branches, giving the tree its common name. The seed cones are ovoid to cylindrical, measuring 6–11 cm (2.5–4.25 in) long, and require approximately two years to mature.

History

Sciadopitys verticillata was initially described by

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Sweden, Swedish Natural history, naturalist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus ...

in 1784. An early attempt to introduce the plant to the West was made around 1853 at the request of

Thomas Lobb Thomas Lobb (1817–1894) was a British botanist and, along with his older brother, William Lobb, collected plants for the plant nursery Veitch Nurseries, Veitch. Lobb worked in India, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. In 1845 he discov ...

, but the effort was unsuccessful, as both plants died shortly after arriving in Europe. The plant was successfully 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 ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. A stylized representation of the tree (known in Japanese as ) was chosen as the Japanese Imperial crest for the Akishino branch of the Imperial Family.

Gallery

File:Sciadopitys verticillata cones Rogów.jpg, ''Sciadopitys'' carpellate cones and dried needles Sciadopitys verticillata cutting

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 File:Umbrella pine.jpg, Leaves with a mature cone in Seattle, Washington

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 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 Trees of Sakhalin