Torreya
Encyclopedia
Torreya is a genus of conifers
comprising five or six species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae
, or in the Taxaceae
when that family is considered in a broad sense. Four are native to eastern Asia
; the other two are native to North America
. They are small to medium-sized evergreen
tree
s reaching 5-20 m, rarely 25 m, tall. Common names include nutmeg yew.
The leaves
are spirally arranged on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in two flat ranks; they are linear, 2-8 cm long and 3-4 mm broad, hard in texture, with a sharp spine tip.
Torreya can be either monoecious
or dioecious
; when monoecious, the male and female cones
are often on different branches. The male (pollen
) cones are 5-8 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (seed
) cones are single or grouped two to eight together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe
-like structure with the single large nut
-like seed 2-4 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, green to purple at full maturity. In some species, notably the Japan
ese Torreya nucifera
('Kaya'), the seed is edible. Natural dispersal is thought to be aided by squirrel
s which bury the seeds for a winter food source; any seeds left uneaten are then able to germinate.
The genus is named after the American botanist John Torrey.
Torreya californica
(California torreya) is endemic
in California
. It is the largest species, reaching 25 m tall.
Torreya taxifolia
(Florida torreya or gopher wood) has a restricted habitat within Torreya State Park
, along the east bank of the Apalachicola River
in the Florida Panhandle
and immediately adjacent southernmost Georgia
. Elvy E. Callaway claimed it was the "gopher wood" used to build Noah's Ark. It is an endangered species
, which has suffered a major decline in numbers due to fungal disease (possibly Phytophthora
), and postglacial global warming
; however, cultivated specimens are growing very well and regenerating naturally in cooler climates of northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Called "assisted migration
", intentional movement of a plant outside of its historical range (though perhaps consistent with its deep-time range) became an important issue in the conservation community in 2007 and 2008, with T. taxifolia
being the featured plant.
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
comprising five or six species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae
Cephalotaxaceae
The family Cephalotaxaceae is a small grouping of conifers, with three genera and about 20 species, closely allied to the Taxaceae, and included in that family by some botanists. They are restricted to east Asia, except for two species of Torreya found in the southwest and southeast of the USA;...
, or in the Taxaceae
Taxaceae
The family Taxaceae, commonly called the yew family, includes three genera and about 7 to 12 species of coniferous plants, or in other interpretations , six genera and about 30 species....
when that family is considered in a broad sense. Four are native to eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
; the other two are native to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. They are small to medium-sized evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s reaching 5-20 m, rarely 25 m, tall. Common names include nutmeg yew.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spirally arranged on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in two flat ranks; they are linear, 2-8 cm long and 3-4 mm broad, hard in texture, with a sharp spine tip.
Torreya can be either monoecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
or dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
; when monoecious, the male and female cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are often on different branches. The male (pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
) cones are 5-8 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
) cones are single or grouped two to eight together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
-like structure with the single large nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
-like seed 2-4 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, green to purple at full maturity. In some species, notably the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Torreya nucifera
Torreya nucifera
Torreya nucifera is a slow-growing, coniferous tree native to southern Japan and to South Korea's Jeju Island. It is also called ' or Japanese nutmeg-yew.-Description:It grows to 15-25 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter...
('Kaya'), the seed is edible. Natural dispersal is thought to be aided by squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s which bury the seeds for a winter food source; any seeds left uneaten are then able to germinate.
The genus is named after the American botanist John Torrey.
Torreya californica
Torreya californica
Torreya californica is species of conifer endemic to California, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada...
(California torreya) is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is the largest species, reaching 25 m tall.
Torreya taxifolia
Torreya taxifolia
Torreya taxifolia, commonly known as the Florida torreya, gopher wood, stinking yew, or stinking cedar , is a rare and endangered species found in the Southeastern United States, at the state border region of northern Florida and southwestern Georgia.It is the type species of the genus Torreya...
(Florida torreya or gopher wood) has a restricted habitat within Torreya State Park
Torreya State Park
Torreya State Park is a 12,000 acre Florida State Park, U.S. National Natural Landmark and historic site thirteen miles north of Bristol. It is located north of S.R 12 on the Apalachicola River, in northwestern Florida, at 2576 N.W. Torreya Park Road...
, along the east bank of the Apalachicola River
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...
in the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
and immediately adjacent southernmost Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Elvy E. Callaway claimed it was the "gopher wood" used to build Noah's Ark. It is an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, which has suffered a major decline in numbers due to fungal disease (possibly Phytophthora
Phytophthora
Phytophthora is a genus of plant-damaging Oomycetes , whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, as well as environmental damage in natural ecosystems. The genus was first described by Heinrich Anton de Bary in 1875...
), and postglacial global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
; however, cultivated specimens are growing very well and regenerating naturally in cooler climates of northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Called "assisted migration
Assisted migration
Assisted migration is the practice of deliberately populating members of a species from their present habitat to a new region with the intent of establishing a permanent presence there, generally in response to the degradation of the natural habitat due to human action...
", intentional movement of a plant outside of its historical range (though perhaps consistent with its deep-time range) became an important issue in the conservation community in 2007 and 2008, with T. taxifolia
Torreya taxifolia
Torreya taxifolia, commonly known as the Florida torreya, gopher wood, stinking yew, or stinking cedar , is a rare and endangered species found in the Southeastern United States, at the state border region of northern Florida and southwestern Georgia.It is the type species of the genus Torreya...
being the featured plant.