View source for Biology:Glyptostrobus

{{Short description|Genus of conifers}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Cretaceous|Recent}}
| image = Glyptostrobus pensilis 2007.06.28 10.10.35-p6280031.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Biology:Glyptostrobus pensilis|Glyptostrobus pensilis]]''
| taxon = Glyptostrobus
| authority = [[Biography:Stephan Endlicher|Endl.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?5037 |title=''Glyptostrobus'' Endl. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2007-07-17 |access-date=2009-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606012547/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?5037 |archive-date=2011-06-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| type_species = ''Glyptostrobus heterophyllus''
| type_species_authority = (Brongn.) [[Biography:Stephan Endlicher|Endl.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 
*†''[[Biology:Glyptostrobus europaeus|G. europaeus]]''
*†''G. nordenskioldii''
*''[[Biology:Glyptostrobus pensilis|G. pensilis]]''
}}

'''''Glyptostrobus''''' is a small [[Biology:Genus|genus]] of conifers in the family  [[Biology:Cupressaceae|Cupressaceae]] (formerly in the family [[Biology:Taxodiaceae|Taxodiaceae]]).  The sole living species, ''[[Biology:Glyptostrobus pensilis|Glyptostrobus pensilis]]'', is native to subtropical southeastern {{wipe|China}}, from Fujian west to southeast Yunnan, and also very locally in northern Vietnam and Borikhamxai Province of eastern Laos near the Vietnam border.<ref>Nguyễn Đúc Tố Luu, Philip Ian Thomas, 2004. [http://www.ceh.ac.uk/sections/documents/CMenglishfull_000.pdf Conifers of Vietnam]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 94 pp. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, NERC, UK.</ref><ref>Leonid V. Averyanov, Ke Loc Phan, Tien Hiep Nguyen, Sinh Khang Nguyen, Tien Vinh Nguyen and Thuy Duyen Pham, 2009. Preliminary Observation of Native ''Glyptostrobus pensilis'' (Taxodiaceae) Stands in Vietnam. [http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/taiwania/pdf/tai.2009.54.3.191.pdf Taiwania, 54(3): 191-212] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320141146/http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/taiwania/pdf/tai.2009.54.3.191.pdf |date=2012-03-20 }}.</ref>

The genus formerly had a much wider range, covering most of the [[Earth:Northern Hemisphere|Northern Hemisphere]], including the high Arctic in the [[Earth:Paleocene|Paleocene]] and [[Earth:Eocene|Eocene]]. The oldest known [[Biology:Fossil|fossil]]s are late [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] in age, found in [[Earth:North America|North America]]. It contributed greatly to the [[Earth:Coal|coal]] swamps of the [[Earth:Cenozoic|Cenozoic]] era. It was reduced to its current range before and during the [[Earth:Pleistocene|Pleistocene]] [[Earth:Ice age|ice age]]s.<ref>LePage, B.A. 2007. The Taxonomy and Biogeographic History of ''Glyptostrobus''. [http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3374/0079-032X%282007%2948%5B359%3ATTABHO%5D2.0.CO%3B2 Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 48(2): 359-426]. {{doi|10.3374/0079-032X(2007)48[359:TTABHO]2.0.CO;2}}</ref>

''G. pensilis'' is a medium-sized to large [[Earth:Tree|tree]], reaching {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}}, possibly more. The [[Biology:Leaf|leaves]] are [[Biology:Deciduous|deciduous]], spirally arranged but twisted at the base to lie in two horizontal ranks, {{convert|5|-|20|mm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1|-|2|mm|in|abbr=on}} broad, but {{convert|2|-|3|mm|in|abbr=on}} long and scale-like on shoots in the upper crown. The [[Conifer cone|cones]] are green maturing yellow-brown, [[Biology:Pear|pear]]-shaped, {{convert|2|-|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1|-|1.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} diameter, broadest near the apex. They open when mature to release the small, {{convert|5|-|20|mm|in|abbr=on}} long, winged [[Biology:Seed|seed]]s.

It typically grows in [[Earth:River|river]] banks, [[Earth:Pond|pond]]s and [[Earth:Swamp|swamp]]s, growing in water up to {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} deep. Like the related genus ''[[Biology:Taxodium|Taxodium]]'', it produces '[[Biology:Cypress knee|cypress knee]]s' when growing in water, thought to help transport [[Chemistry:Oxygen|oxygen]] to the [[Biology:Root|root]]s.

The species is nearly [[Biology:Extinction|extinct]] in the wild due to overcutting for its valuable decay-resistant, scented [[Biology:Wood|wood]], but it is also fairly widely planted along the banks of [[Biology:Rice|rice]] [[Earth:Paddy field|paddies]] where its roots help to stabilise the banks by reducing soil erosion.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.conifers.org/cu/gl/index.htm Gymnosperm Database: ''Glyptostrobus'']
*[http://www.pinetum.org/cones/GSpensilis.jpg Arboretum de Villardebelle: photo of cone]
{{Commons}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1073661}}
[[Category:Cupressaceae]]
[[Category:Conifer genera]]

{{Sourceattribution|Glyptostrobus}}