The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

   ISSN 2307-8235 (online)

   IUCN 2008: T34162A2848919

Nothotsuga longibracteata, Bristlecone Hemlock

Assessment by: Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D

View on www.iucnredlist.org

Citation: Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D. 2013. Nothotsuga longibracteata. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species 2013: e.T34162A2848919. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-
1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en

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Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family

Plantae Tracheophyta Pinopsida Pinales Pinaceae

Taxon Name:  Nothotsuga longibracteata (W.C.Cheng) Hu ex C.N.Page

Synonym(s):
• Tsuga longibracteata W.C.Cheng

Common Name(s):
• English: Bristlecone Hemlock
Taxonomic Source(s):
Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Taxonomic Notes:
This taxon was first described as a species of Tsuga by the well-known Chinese botanist W.C. Cheng in
1932. Hu (1951) proposed a separate genus Nothotsuga for this species, but failed to give a Latin
description; the genus name was then validated by Page (1989). French botanists in the 'School of
Gaussen' at Toulouse proposed a generic hybrid origin between Keteleeria and Tsuga, but gave no
evidence for this and applied an illegitimate name. Chinese botanists (e.g. Flora of China 4: 39-40, 1999)
do not recognize its status as a distinct genus, but there are several distinctive characters in both male
and female cones not shared by other species of Tsuga in Asia or North America that appear to justify
generic recognition. Its phylogenetic position based on both morphological and DNA data confirms this
taxonomy. Despite its name, there is no evidence that this taxon is of hybrid origin.

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published: 2013

Date Assessed: December 15, 2010

Justification:
Nothotsuga longibracteata has a narrow ecological niche and a scattered, fragmented distribution. Past
logging and general deforestation has had an impact on this naturally rare species and it is likely that
this reduction is close to the thresholds for listing as threatened (under criterion A2cd). An assessment
of Near Threatened reflects this past reduction and highlights the need for continued monitoring and
the enforcement of logging regulations.

Previously Published Red List Assessments

1998 – Endangered (EN)

1998 – Vulnerable (V)

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Endemic to China: S Fujian, N Guangdong, NE Guangxi, NE Guizhou, SW Hunan, and SE Jiangxi.

Country Occurrence:
Native: China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi)

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 2
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
Population
Highly fragmented. Scattered individuals occur in undisturbed forests.
Current Population Trend:  Unknown

Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

Nothotsuga longibracteata occurs on low to medium high mountains, at elevations between 300 and
2,300(-3,200) m a.s.l. It grows on both red and yellow earth. The climate is humid and warm-temperate
to wet and cool, with annual precipitation between 1,000-2,000 mm. The species occurs in two forest
formations (Wang 1961). In the evergreen broad-leaved forest formation mostly with sclerophyllous
broad-leaved trees such as Castanopsis spp., Lithocarpus spp., Quercus spp., and with Fokienia
hodginsii; in the deciduous mixed mesophytic forest at higher elevations with Fagus longipetiolata,
Tetracentron sinensis, Nyssa sinensis, Acer angustilobium, Davidia involucrata, Sorbus spp., etc. In the
evergreen broad-leaved forest formation there are stands of pure Nothotsuga longibracteata and Tsuga
chinensis. Pinus massoniana or P. fenzeliana (syn. P. kwangtungensis) locally dominate the general
canopy of broad-leaved trees on poorer sites, where N. longibracteata is also concentrated.The
ecological niche of this species is considered to be very narrow.

Systems:  Terrestrial

Use and Trade (see Appendix for additional information)

In China this species is considered to be a desirable forest tree suitable for afforestation. Its use as a
timber tree must be limited due to its rarity. It is not in general cultivation outside China and rare in
botanical collections. A few plants of this species are in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh and elsewhere, though it has proved to be very slow growing and quite difficult to grow well.

Threats (see Appendix for additional information)

This species was considered to be Endangered, because it is very rare despite its relatively wide
distribution. Large scale logging has depleted the number of trees to an unquantified extent (Fu and Jin
1992) and substantial parts of forest where this species could have occurred have gone, especially at
lower elevations. Logging has largely ceased and no specific current threats have been identified.

Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)

Several populations of this species occur within protected areas, but other populations are situated
outside such reserves. The Chinese Government has issued a logging ban effective in the remaining
native forests, which should benefit this species.

Credits
Assessor(s): Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D

Reviewer(s): Thomas, P.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 3
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
Bibliography
Farjon, A. 2010. Conifer Database (June 2008) In Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2010 Annual
Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin
T., Baillargeon G., eds). Reading, UK. Available at: http://www.catalogueoflife.org/.

Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Fu, L.K. and Jin, J.M. 1992. China Plant Red Data Book – Rare and Endangered Plants 1. Science Press,
Beijing.

Hu, H.H. 1951. Lecture material on the Classification of Seed Plants [in Chinese].

IUCN. 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2013.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 12 June 2013).

Page, C.N. 1989. New and maintained genera in the Conifer families Podocarpaceae and Pinaceae. Notes
of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 45(2): 377-395.

Wang, C.W. 1961. The forests of China with a survey of grassland and desert vegetation. Maria Moors
Cabot Foundation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Wu, Z. and Raven, P.H. (eds). 1999. Flora of China: Vol.4. Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Science Press
(Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis).

Ying, T.S., Chen, M.L. and Chang, H.C. 2003. Atlas of the Gymnosperms of China. China Science &
Technology Press, Beijing.

Citation
Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D. 2013. Nothotsuga longibracteata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2013: e.T34162A2848919. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en

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External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 4
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
 Appendix

Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?

1. Forest -> 1.4. Forest - Temperate - Suitable Yes

Use and Trade

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

End Use Local National International

Construction or structural materials Yes No No

Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Threat Timing Scope Severity Impact Score

5. Biological resource use -> 5.3. Logging & wood Past, Minority (50%) Slow, significant Past impact
harvesting -> 5.3.2. Intentional use: (large scale) unlikely to declines
return
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality

Conservation Actions in Place

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions in Place

In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management

Occur in at least one PA: Yes

In-Place Education

Included in international legislation: No

Subject to any international management/trade controls: No

Conservation Actions Needed

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions Needed

2. Land/water management -> 2.3. Habitat & natural process restoration

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 5
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Research Needed
3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends

3. Monitoring -> 3.4. Habitat trends

Additional Data Fields

Distribution
Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) (km²): 1500

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²): 415242

Lower elevation limit (m): 300

Upper elevation limit (m): 3200

Population
Continuing decline of mature individuals: No

Population severely fragmented: Yes

Habitats and Ecology

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: No

Generation Length (years): 40

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nothotsuga longibracteata – published in 2013. 6
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34162A2848919.en
The IUCN Red List Partnership

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™