What is the difference between Torreya grandis and Taxus? This article teaches you to tell them apart quickly
Torreya grandis, also known as Chinese torreya, Yu torreya, and torreya seed, is an evergreen tree of the genus Torreya in the family Taxaceae, and is an economic tree species unique to China. It mainly grows in Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces south of the Yangtze River in China, among which Zhejiang's Fengqiao Chinese torreya, Anhui's Taiping Chinese torreya, and Jiangxi's Yushan Chinese torreya (nut) are the most famous. Its fruit is a treasure among dried fruits, containing rich protein and a variety of trace elements. In addition, Chinese torreya is also a precious Chinese medicinal material, with the effects of killing parasites, relieving food stagnation, and moistening dryness.
The Chinese torreya has a tall trunk, standing upright, with well-developed side branches, a graceful tree form, lush green branches and leaves, evergreen through all four seasons, and fine leaves swaying; it has strong resistance to smoke and dust, is rarely damaged by diseases and insects, is very rich in ornamental value, and is an excellent tree species for landscaping and courtyard greening.
Taxus is a plant of the genus Taxus in the family Taxaceae; all species in this genus are evergreen trees or shrubs, dioecious, and cross-pollinated. The cones are small, solitary in the leaf axils, and open in early spring. The male cones are stalked capitula with scales at the base, with 6 to 14 stamens; the female cone has one terminal ovule, with a disc-shaped aril at the base and several bracts below. The seeds are nut-like, spherical, borne in a red fleshy cup-shaped aril, and mature in the same year.
It is a typical shade-tolerant tree species. It often occurs in the second and third tree layers under the forest canopy, scattered, basically with no pure stands present, and rarely in patchy distribution. It grows well only in well-drained acidic gray-brown soil, yellow soil, and yellow-brown soil; the seedlings are shade-loving and avoid sun exposure. Its seeds have a thick seed coat and are in a deep dormant state; under natural conditions, they can germinate only after two winters and one summer, and its natural regeneration capacity is weak. Paclitaxel and its derivatives extracted from the body of Taxus plants are among the best anticancer drugs in the world today and have very high development and utilization value.
There are 11 species of Taxus plants worldwide, distributed in temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. China has 4 species and 1 variety: Taxus cuspidata, Taxus wallichiana, Taxus wallichiana var. mairei, Taxus chinensis, and Taxus chinensis var. mairei.