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Taiwania cryptomerioides
Also called Coffin Tree, Taiwan Cedar, Chinese Coffintree, Coffintree
Taiwania cryptomerioides is a very large coniferous tree from the cypress family, native to mountains of eastern Asia, reaching up to 90 m in the wild. It is grown mainly as a specimen or conservation tree in large gardens and arboreta, and needs cool, humid conditions and space to grow.
Taiwania, with the single living species Taiwania cryptomerioides, is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family, Cupressaceae.
It is native to eastern Asia, growing in the mountains of central Taiwan, and locally in southwest China (Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet) and adjoining Myanmar, and northern Vietnam.
The wood is soft, but durable and attractively spicy scented, and was in very high demand in the past, particularly for temple building and coffins. The rarity of the tree and its slow growth in plantations means legal supplies are now very scarce; the species has legal protection in China and Taiwan.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Taiwania 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.
