Cathaya

Taxobox
name = "Cathaya"
fossil_range = Fossil range|30.0|0
status = LR/cd | status_system = IUCN2.3
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Pinophyta
classis = Pinopsida
ordo = Pinales
familia = Pinaceae
genus = "Cathaya"
species = "C. argyrophylla"
binomial = "Cathaya argyrophylla"
binomial_authority = Chun & Kuang

"Cathaya" is a genus in family Pinaceae and has one known living species, "Cathaya argyrophylla". "Cathaya" is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to "Pseudotsuga" and "Larix". A second species, "C. nanchuanensis", is now treated as a synonym, as it does not differ from "C. argyrophylla" in any characters.

"Cathaya" is confined to a limited area in southern China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and southeast Sichuan. It is found on steep, narrow mountain slopes at 950-1800 m altitude, on limestone soils. A larger population has been reduced by over-cutting before its scientific discovery and protection in 1950.

The leaves are needle-like, 2.5-5 cm long, have ciliate (hairy) margins when young, and grow around the stems in a spiral pattern. The cones are 3-5 cm long, with about 15-20 scales, each scale bearing two winged seeds.

One or two botanists, unhappy with the idea of a new genus in such a familiar family, tried to shoehorn it into other existing genera, as "Pseudotsuga argyrophylla" and "Tsuga argyrophylla". It is however very distinct from both of these genera, and these combinations are not now used.

Fossils of extinct species of "Cathaya" are abundant in European brown coal deposits dating from between 10-30 million years ago.

References

*
* [http://www.conifers.org/pi/ca/index.htm Gymnosperm Database: "Cathaya argyrophylla"]
* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=105883 Flora of China: "Cathaya argyrophylla"]