Eucommia ulmoides

Botanical Description

Eucommia ulmoides is a deciduous tree with a broadly-domed crown; it can grow up to 20 metres tall and 15 metres wide. The bole can be 50cm in diameter[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The tree is harvested from the wild for use as a medicine and source of materials. It is an economically important plant in China, being utilized for herbal medicine and the organic chemical industry, and is also cultivated in Korea and Vietnam[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. Although it is widely cultivated, Eucommia ulmoides has become a rare species in the wild, known from scattered subpopulations. The population size is thought to be fewer than 1,000 mature individuals. The main threat to this species is over-exploitation across its natural range and coupled with high deforestation rates the species is of conservation concern. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].