Phoebe zhennan
| Phoebe zhennan | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Phoebe |
| Species: | P. zhennan |
| Binomial name | |
| Phoebe zhennan S. Lee & F.N. Wei | |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phoebe zhennan. |
Phoebe zhennan is a large species of tree, up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall, in the Phoebe genus of the Lauraceae family. Zhennan was originally a Chinese word that related to the tree's Chinese name 楠, Nan. It is endemic to China where it occurs in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces.[2]
The species is threatened by habitat loss, and so is under second-class national protection in China. In the past, wood from this tree was so valuable that only royal families could afford their use. Notably, whole logs of Phoebe zhennan wood were used to create pillars for the Forbidden City, but they have since been replaced.
The wood is particularly valuable when has become semi-fossilized, and is then referred to as 烏木 Wu Mu, or "Black Wood". The price on the 2012 market could be as high as over $10,000 per cubic meter.[3]
References
- ↑ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). "Phoebe zhennan". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 1998: e.T32440A9707186. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32440A9707186.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ↑ Fa-Nan Wei & Henk van der Werff. "Phoebe zhennan". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ↑ "National key protected wild plants (first batch) (original in Chinese)". Nature Reserve of China. 2004-07-10. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.