Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: 银杉属 yin shan shu, Cathay silver fir

Family: Pinaceae

Distribution: Southern China

Habitat: steep mountain slopes and ridges

IUCN Red list: Vulnerable

Life form: Evergreen conifer

Comments: Cathaya is closely related to Pseudotsuga (our native Douglas fir) and Larix (larches).
The genus name refers to Cathay, an old European name for China. The epithet is from the Greek for "silver leaf".
The discovery of this extant species in 1955 caused a scientific sensation, similar to that which accompanied the discoveries of the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) in 1945 and Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis) in 1994. A group of about 1,000 trees were discovered in the Huaping Nature Reserve.
Cathaya sp. fossils are described from the early Pleistocene of southern Portugal. They are abundant in European coal deposits dating from between 10 and 30 million years ago.
Evergreen tree with long and short-shoots (like in the larches). Long shoots with tufts of leaves, short shoots with solitary leaves packed densely (appearing clustered). Leaves needle-like, spirally arranged, typically 4-6 cm long x 3 mm wide, dark green above with 2 silvery-white stomatal bands below. Seed cones green, maturing dark brown, ovoid, axillary and sessile, maturing in one year, persistent.