Cephalotaxus oliveri

Botanical Description

Cephalotaxus oliveri is an evergreen shrub or a tree that can grow up to 7 metres tall[ 1193 Title A taxonomic revision of the genus Cephalotaxus (Taxaceae) Publication Phytotaxa 84 (1); 1-24 Author Xue-Dong Lang; Jian-Rong Su; Shu-Gang Lu & Zhi-Jun Zhang Website http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.84.1.1 Publisher Magnolia Press Year 2013 ISBN 1179-3163 Description A review of the genus Cephalotaxus. It can be downloaded from the Internet ]. The plant is harvested from the wild on a commercial basis for its bark (also twigs, roots and seeds), which contains anti-carcinogenic alkaloids, used for medicinal purposes. It is grown as an ornamental shrub both in and outside China, where it can be used as a hedge. This species has a relatively wide geographical range and broad ecological amplitude, yet it has suffered from widespread deforestation for agricultural expansion and logging of the forests for timber and fuelwood (bycatch) as well as direct exploitation for its bark and other plant parts (all ongoing threats). The clearance of forests has resulted in reduced regeneration of this species, it prefers shady areas for germination and growth. The species has low genetic diversity which also reduces its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. 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. ].