Cunninghamia lanceolata

Cunninghamia or China-fir is in the cypress or Cupressaceae family and is native to China, northern Vietnam and Laos, and Cambodia. It is a sought-after timber tree in parts of Asia, producing soft, highly durable scented wood similar to that of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Japanese Sugi ( Cryptomeria japonica). It is used for temple building and for the manufacture of coffins.

• Leaves are softly spined, leathery, stiff, green to blue-green needle-like, spiralling around the stem but displaying flat, with an upward arch; they are 2–7 cm long and 3–5 mm broad at the base.
• The species is monoecious. Male cones are small, brown and dangle below the needles on leaf tips; female seed cones are rounded, up to 4 cm across, initially green, turning brown; they have spirally arranged scales.
• Cunninghamia can be mistaken for the more rare Japanese nutmeg-Yew (Torreya nucifera), with Cunninghamia being distinguished by having bronze autumn branches accumulating beneath it.