Flora of North America species comparison

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Torreya californica

Torreya taxifolia

California torreya, California-nutmeg

Florida nutmeg, Florida torreya, gopherwood, stinking-cedar
Habit Trees to 20(–25) m; trunk to 9(–12) dm diam.; crown conic or, in age, round-topped. Trees to 13(–18) m; trunk to 8 dm diam.; crown rather open-conical.
Branches

spreading to slightly drooping; 2-year-old branches reddish brown.

spreading to slightly drooping; 2-year-old branches yellowish green, yellowish brown, or gray.
Leaves

3–8 cm, abaxial side with 2 deeply impressed, glaucous bands of stomates, flattened on adaxial side, emitting pungent odor when crushed.

1.5–3.8 cm, abaxial side with 2 scarcely impressed, grayish bands of stomates, rounded on adaxial side, emitting fetid odor when crushed.
Pollen cones

whitish.

pale yellow.
Seed

(including aril) 2.5–3.5 cm;

aril light green streaked with purple.

(including aril) 2.5–3.5 cm;

aril glaucous, dark green, streaked with purple.
2n

= 16.

Torreya californica

Torreya taxifolia
Habitat Rare and local along mountain streams, protected slopes, creek bottoms, and moist canyons of the Coastal Range and Sierra Nevada River bluffs, slopes, and moist ravines
Elevation 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft) 15–30 m (0–100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Torreya taxifolia is a rare endemic mainly along the Apalachicola River.

Populations of Torreya taxifolia were thriving until the 1950s, but since then they have been decimated by fungal disease (R. L. Godfrey and H. Kurz 1962). Only nonreproductive stump sprouts remain in the wild. The Florida torreya was listed as federally endangered in 1984 under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and efforts are underway to reestablish this once thriving species in its native habitat (L. R. McMahan 1989).

Of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Taxaceae > Torreya Taxaceae > Torreya
Sibling taxa
T. taxifolia
T. californica
Synonyms T. myristica, Tumion californicum Tumion taxifolium
Name authority Torrey: New York J. Pharm. (1852–1854) 3: 49. (1854) Arnott: Ann. Nat. Hist. 1: 130. (1838)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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