Distribution

Recorded from China: S Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Nei Mongol [Inner Mongolia]; Korea; Russian Far East. This species is apparently quite widespread but the geographic and altitudinal range is confused by populations which may have been planted or have become naturalized.

This is possibly the most widely introduced cupressaceous conifer in Asia. In many areas inside and outside China it has 'escaped' from cultivation and established spontaneous populations. It is therefore very difficult to establish its natural range but it is likely to be native only in parts of the provinces listed above and in a restricted area in Korea and adjacent Russia. Rehder (1923) mentioned Gansu, Hubei, Sichuan, Manchuria and Korea as the regions where it is indigenous and considered that "in other parts of China as in Formosa [Taiwan] and Japan [it is] probably planted." This is contrasted by Wilson's (1926) and Handel-Mazzetti's (1927) account of occurrences in NW Yunnan and SW Sichuan where they mention (collections of) the species from the deep valleys of the Jinsha (Yangtse), Lancang (Mekong) and Nu (Salween) Rivers. While in his account Handel-Mazzetti is quite certain of its natural occurrence there, Wilson states about the ecology of this conifer: "exact habitat unknown; long cultivated and escaped" and "In my own travels through the Orient I never saw a spontaneous example." He also observed that "this tree is a favorite with Taoists, Buddhist and Confucian priests which accounts for its wide spread cultivation." The photograph by Handel-Mazzetti (1927) in Karsten and Schenck's series 'Vegetationsbilder' shows young trees in a narrow valley that grew there most likely spontaneously but this does not mean that they are indigenous there. In NE Yunnan, Conifer Specialist Group members observed that this tree is very popular with the local Buddhist rites as fresh boughs are sold to worshipers at shrines and temples. These are taken from numerous small shrubs and trees growing on otherwise virtually deforested slopes nearby; the only other trees among them were some pines (Pinus densata), a pioneer species. Where Platycladus orientalis is abundant, monasteries and temples are never far away. A few copses of older and unpruned trees were seen near villages in a tributary valley of the Jinsha (Yangtse) River. Nowhere in NW Yunnan was this tree seen in mature natural forest; this situation is presumably similar in other regions. Naturalized populations occur in the Elburz Mountains of NE Iran (Riedl 1968) and possibly elsewhere. In Kirgyzstan it is the most widely planted conifer in cities and large villages; it is also widely cultivated in the mountainous parts of India (Sahni 1990). None of these occurrences are indigenous. The fossil record has not yielded evidence to indicate a past natural distribution wider than at present

Habitat and Ecology

Platycladus orientalis is most probably a species of the transitional open woodland zone between the steppes of Inner Mongolia and the deciduous oak, oak-birch, and oak-pine forests of NE China. Even within its natural range it is now almost invariably found in secondary vegetation or, nearest to its original habitat, in more or less degraded woodland and forest. As a pioneer species which is relatively long-lived, it can dominate certain slopes for a long time if further disturbances remain absent. Elsewhere it grows together with Pinus tabuliformis, less frequently with P. armandii and Juniperus rigida; Betula chinensis and Populus tremula are followed in the succession by Quercus spp. (some of which may be evergreen) and Castanea. The most arid and steepest slopes may only be covered with Pinus tabuliformis and Platycladus, accompanied by Juniperus rigida and other shrubs, and this vegetation may not represent a seral type but an edaphically determined climax. The climate in NE China is above all characterized by very cold winters. As a pioneer of relatively dry, open vegetation on often unstable slopes, P. orientalis has found abundant opportunity over much of China, and even beyond (e.g. NE Iran), to establish itself and spread after introduction. It is much used in afforestation in NE and Central China and commonly planted in Central Asia. Buddhism has been instrumental in its spread especially in the SW of China, where it can be abundant on steep slopes of river valleys, but is usually never very far from settlements, monasteries or temples

Conservation Status

Global Status and Rationale

Near Threatened

The China Plant Specialist Group (CPSG) considering only the occurrence in China of this species, has assessed it as Least Concern, while the Conifer Specialist Group had considered it Near Threatened. Given the statement on its distribution in the Flora of China (much wider than here) it is likely that this assessment by the CPSG has taken into account what are here understood as introduced (and sometimes naturalized) locations, such as in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. The original extent of occurrence of this species, before people planted them everywhere, is much smaller but difficult to establish. From what we know it is likely that mature trees in natural forests are quite rare. The situation in Russia is unknown. It is therefore most likely to be Near Threatened (close to qualifying as threatened under criterion B2ab(v)). An inventory of natural populations and mature trees in them is highly recommended, in China and elsewhere within its most likely natural range.

Global Threats 

Exploitation for timber of larger trees in natural habitat has caused a decline in the number of mature individuals. How much this has impacted on the total population is difficult to establish due to uncertainty
about its natural distribution.

Conservation Actions

An inventory of natural populations and mature trees in them is highly recommended, in China and elsewhere within its most likely natural range.