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 - sow late winter in a greenhouse[]. If the seed does not germinate within 8 weeks then 3 weeks cold stratification may speed up the process[]. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 6 months at 18°c[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
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[].
Division of suckers[].