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Keteleeria fortunei
Fortune's keteleeria is a large, long-lived conifer from southern China, and it is grown mainly as an ornamental tree in warm climates. It is a protected species, so it is rarely grown in gardens outside its native range.
Keteleeria fortunei (zh: 油杉, you shan) is a coniferous tree in the pine family, Pinaceae. Endemic to China, K. fortunei is an ancient relict species and a second-class national key protected plant, "mainly distributed in south subtropical to the middle subtropical edge". It is found in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. The tree grows in hills, mountains, and broadleaf forests at elevations of 200–1400 m. The lifespan of K. fortunei can reach more than a thousand years, and the height of a thousand-year-old tree can reach more than 40 meters. "Economically, K. fortunei is a treasure, and its comprehensive development and uses has broad prospects". The species is named after Scottish botanist Robert Fortune, who discovered the tree in 1844. K.
The tree is grown as an ornamental in warm climates, and the wood is used in construction and furniture, although the species is protected under Chinese forestry regulations.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Keteleeria fortunei by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
