Some botanists consider this species to be no more than a mountain form of Cunninghamia lanceolata[]

Common Name:

General Information

Cunninghamia konishii is an evergreen tree with a rounded crown; it can grow 40 - 50 metres tall. The long, straight trunk is often buttressed in old trees and can be up to 300cm in diameter, exceptionally to 450cm[].
The tree provides a useful and valuable wood that is often used locally. As a rare tree its commercial exploitation is now negligeable, but in the past it was logged and large trees were very valuable[].
Cunninghamia konishii has a very limited range and its remaining stands are small and severely fragmented due to past exploitation of the species, and there is a continuing decline in Lao PDR. In Viet Nam there has been an estimated decline of at least 50%, and there is likely to have been a similar, if not greater decline, in Lao PDR. The total past decline is suspected to have been more than 50% as together, Lao PDR and Viet Nam represent the greater proportion of the global population. The plant is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - southeast China, northern Laos, northern Vietnal

Habitat

Mixed coniferous or conifer-broad-leaved forest in the cool temperate coniferous forest belt; at elevations from 960 - 2,200 metres[]

Properties

Conservation Status	Endangered
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	35.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Wind
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Cunninghamia konishii is native to mountainous regions in the subtropics to tropics and is not very cold-tolerant. It dislikes temperatures falling below -4°c for any period of time and only succeeds outdoors in the milder regions of the temperate zone[]. The climate in Taiwan is cool and very moist, with cloud-cover resulting in fog and rain for much of the year and a very high precipitation exceeding 4,000mm per year. In Laos the climate is monsoon tropical associated with mountains, the mean annual temperature is 16 - 22°c with annual rainfall above 1,500 mm[].
The plant requires a rich warm soil and a sheltered sunny position[, ]. It dislikes soisl with free lime, otherwise the pH is unimportant[]. Soils in its native habitat are relatively deep and well-drained loams or loamy sand[].
Unlike most conifers, this species readily resprouts from the base and so can be coppiced[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A white resin flows from the trunk.

The wood is very light in weight, odorous, strongly resistant to rot, is not eaten by termites and is easily worked[, ]. It is valued for its durability under wet climate conditions[]. This is a valuable timber species, it is used in constructing buildings, bridges, ships, and lamp posts, in furniture manufacture, and for wood fibre[, ].

Propagation

Seed - they have no dormancy and pre-treatment is not necessary. Germination can be improved by soaking the seeds in warm water for a few hours prior to sowing[]. Seeds are sown in seed beds, germination begins after 7 days and is terminated after 20 days[]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, the seedlings are pricked out into polytubes. Seedlings are normally ready for transplanting into the field in 4 - 5 months later, when they are 35 - 40cm tall[].
Vegetative propagation of this species is relatively easy, and at one time most planting stock was produced from coppices from basal stumps after felling[]. Nursery seedlings, however, have faster early growth and better survival than coppice sprouts. Since the 1980s, techniques have been developed to produce planting stock from root cuttings[]. The cuttings are collected from the root collar when they reach a height of about 10 cm and placed in rooting beds. These cuttings have a survival rate of 90 - 95% and the quality is similar to that of seedling
stocks[].
Cuttings from lateral shoots are not suitable[].

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