Тайваньская пихта: описание, распространение и охрана.

Genus of conifers
Speciesbox
| fossil range =
| image = Taiwania cryptomerioides Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens DSC02059. JPG
| status = VU
| status system = IUCN3.1
| status ref =
| display parents = 2
| genus = Taiwania
| parent authority = Hayata
| species = cryptomerioides
| authority = Hayata
| synonyms ref =

The genus was formerly placed in the segregate family Taxodiaceae, it is now included in the monotypic subfamily Taiwanioideae of the family Cupressaceae. The oldest fossil assignable to the genus is from the mid Cretaceous (Albian Cenomanian) of Alaska. Other fossils of the genus are known from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, the Eocene of Asia and North America, and the Miocene of Europe and Asia.

It is native to eastern Asia, growing in the mountains of central Taiwan, and locally in southwest China (Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet) and adjoining Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. It is endangered by illegal logging for its valuable wood in many areas. It is very likely that the range was more extensive in the past before extensive felling for the wood. The leaves are needle like or awl like and long on young trees up to about 100 years old, then gradually becoming more scale like, long, on mature trees. The cones are small, long, with about 15–30 thin, fragile scales, each scale with two seeds.

The genus is named after the country of Taiwan, from where it first became known to the botanical community in 1910. The wood is soft, but durable and attractively spicy scented, and was in very high demand in the past, particularly for temple building and coffins. The rarity of the tree and its slow growth in plantations means legal supplies are now very scarce; the species has legal protection in China and Taiwan. Taiwania is also a journal that is published by National Taiwan University in Taiwan.

In 2022 a team of researchers measured a 79.1 meters (259.5 feet) Taiwania specimen in Shei pa National Park. The tree was growing at an elevation of 2,000m. In 2023 a specimen was found measuring 84.1 meters in height.