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Keteleeria davidiana is often confused with:
Abies alba Abies alba mature tree
Plants that fill a similar niche:
Abies alba Abies alba mature tree
Abies firma Form
Cupressus sempervirens Cupressus sempervirens

David's Keteleeria Keteleeria davidiana

Other Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
ket-el-LEER-ee-ah duh-vid-ee-AN-uh
Description

David's Keteleeria is a large, flowering, evergreen tree in the pine family native to China and Taiwan where it is found along mountain slopes or in woodlands growing in small groups or solitary. The tree has medium green needles, large branches, an upright or oval habit and, at maturity, can reach 100 feet high. The bark is rough and fissured.

Plant in full sun in sandy or loamy soils with good drainage. It will do best in a sheltered site away from cold winds for its first few years. This tree suffers in the shade and prefers heat and dry or slightly moist soils. 

When it is young, the branches are covered with stiff hairs and it resembles Abies alba.

Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:

No known diseases or insect pests.

See this plant in the following landscape:
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'calcarea'
    First-year branchlets yellow.
  • 'davidiana'
    First-year branchlets yellow-gray or light-gray.
  • 'formosana'
    Dark leaf scars protruding noticeably on branches.
'calcarea', 'davidiana', 'formosana'
Tags:
#evergreen#heat tolerant#large tree#slow growing#conifer#needled evergreen#wind pollinated#evergreen tree#dry soils tolerant#woodland
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'calcarea'
    First-year branchlets yellow.
  • 'davidiana'
    First-year branchlets yellow-gray or light-gray.
  • 'formosana'
    Dark leaf scars protruding noticeably on branches.
'calcarea', 'davidiana', 'formosana'
Tags:
#evergreen#heat tolerant#large tree#slow growing#conifer#needled evergreen#wind pollinated#evergreen tree#dry soils tolerant#woodland
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Keteleeria
    Species:
    davidiana
    Family:
    Pinaceae
    Uses (Ethnobotany):
    The wood is close grained and easily worked for building purposes, furniture and wood fiber.
    Life Cycle:
    Woody
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Seed
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Central and Southern China and Taiwan.
    Distribution:
    Northern Viet Nam.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Tree
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Needled Evergreen
    Habit/Form:
    Erect
    Oval
    Growth Rate:
    Slow
    Maintenance:
    Medium
    Texture:
    Coarse
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Soil Texture:
    Loam (Silt)
    Sand
    Soil pH:
    Acid (<6.0)
    Alkaline (>8.0)
    Neutral (6.0-8.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Moist
    Occasionally Dry
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Display/Harvest Time:
    Fall
    Fruit Description:
    Seeds ripen in fall. Seed cones cylindrical. Heart-shaped seed scales at middle of cones.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Insignificant
    Flower Description:
    Flowers appear in March and are wind pollinated.
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Needled Evergreen
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Feel:
    Glossy
    Leaf Type:
    Needles
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Other/more complex
    Leaf Margin:
    Entire
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Description:
    Dark shiny green leaves, 2 1/2 inches long, ending keeled on both sides, entire, rounded at the apex. Leaves usually arranged like the teeth of a comb.
  • Bark:
    Bark Color:
    Black
    Dark Brown
    Dark Gray
    Surface/Attachment:
    Fissured
    Scaly
    Bark Description:
    Dull brown to gray-black. Rough and longitudinally fissured, flaking.
  • Stem:
    Stem Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Gray/Silver
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Buds:
    Scaly
    Stem Surface:
    Hairy (pubescent)
    Stem Description:
    Buds are scaly and red in the spring. Stems are slender covered in stiff brown hairs, initially yellowish gray, yellow, or light gray, but turning gray or light brown in 2nd or 3rd year.
  • Landscape:
    Landscape Location:
    Slope/Bank
    Woodland
    Landscape Theme:
    Asian Garden
    Design Feature:
    Shade Tree
    Small groups
    Specimen
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Dry Soil
    Heat