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Cathaya argyrophylla            Pinaceae

Cathay Silver Fir                         ka-THAY-a ar-gi-ro-FIL-la

• Medium sized evergreen tree to 65 ft (20 m) tall, branches arranged horizontally, young shoots striped brown, trunk width 40 cm or more; has both long and short shoots.  Buds not resinous.  Leaves (needles) on long shoots arising radially around branches, 4-5 cm long and about 3 mm wide, but on short shoots whorled and only 2.5 cm long, dark green above and light green below, with 2 silvery-white stomatal bands and 2 subepidermal resin ducts, (juvenile leaves ciliate on the margin and pubescent on the upper surface).  Cones 3-5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, attached by a short or almost no stalk on short lateral shoots, they are initially erect but becoming pendulous, persisting for several years.
• Sun.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 8    Only first described in 1955.  An endangered species native to southern China, in parts of Sichuan, Guizhou, Henan, and Guangxi provences between 1400-1800 m.  See "A synopsis of the enigmatic Cathay silver fir" by Chris Callaghan, International Dendrology Yearbook, 2006, p. 151-167.   PDF file at http://www.dendrology.org/site/images/web4events/pdf/Tree%20info%20IDS_06_pp151_p167_CathayFir.pdf
• argyrophylla:   argyro, silvery, and phylla, leaves; i.e., silver-leaved.
• Silverton, Oregon: The Oregon Garden - Conifer Garden