Keteleeria fortunei Seeds | Fortune’s Keteleeria
LATIN NAME: Keteleeria fortunei
COMMON NAME: Fortune’s Keteleeria, Chinese Coffin Tree
Plant Profile
Fortune’s keteleeria is an evergreen conifer of twenty to thirty metres with flat needles arranged in two ranks, a grey fissured trunk and upright cones that break up on the tree rather than falling whole. It is related to the firs and looks like one, but its cones do not shatter in the same way.
It grows in the hills of southern China, from Zhejiang to Guangxi, in mixed forest on acid soil, and it was named for Robert Fortune, who collected it for the Horticultural Society of London in the 1840s. The common name coffin tree comes from the use of its timber for coffins, a trade that took the best trunks.
Science & Biotechnology
The genus sits between the firs and the pines in the family, and its cone scales fall away one by one, leaving the central axis on the tree, which is a character it shares with Abies. The seed is large and winged and germinates in the spring after a cold winter.
The species is now listed as vulnerable, since the old-growth trees were cut and the remaining populations are small and fragmented. Regeneration in the wild is poor where grazing and fire are frequent, and most of the mature trees in China are in temple grounds and in protected valleys. The seed is also slow to germinate and often waits a full year, which is one reason the species is rare in nurseries and expensive when it is offered.
Uses & Benefits
The timber is light, straight and easy to work, and it was used for construction, for furniture and for coffins, which is how the tree got its English name. It is also cut for pulp in a small way where the stands are accessible.
The tree is grown as an ornamental in southern China and in a few collections in Europe and North America, where its blue-green foliage and its tolerance of heat are appreciated. The seed is not eaten and there is no medicinal trade in the species. The resin is also tapped in a small way for varnish in the districts where the tree is common.
Growing from Seed
Sow the seed in spring after eight weeks of cold moisture, on the surface of a free-draining mix at eighteen to twenty degrees. Germination takes three to five weeks, and the seedlings need light from the start.
Plant out in a position with sun and deep, acid, well-drained soil, and water through the first three summers. The tree tolerates heat better than most firs, which is why it is used in warm temperate gardens, but it dislikes root disturbance and should not be moved once established. The tree also responds to a spring mulch of leaf mould, and it resents dry air, which browns the needle tips in a hot summer.
Our Take
A rare Chinese conifer with a fine habit and a grim common name, and one that suits a warm temperate garden better than most firs. Plant it young.
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