biology

Taiwania

Taiwania is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Taiwania rather than just read about it. In short: Taiwania, with the single living species Taiwania cryptomerioides, is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Etymology Taiwania means 'from Taiwan', while cryptomerioides means 'resembling Cryptomeria.

Key takeaways

Taiwania belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Taiwania to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Taiwania from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Taiwania, with the single living species Taiwania cryptomerioides, is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae.

Etymology Taiwania means 'from Taiwan', while cryptomerioides means 'resembling Cryptomeria.

Taxonomy The genus was formerly placed in the segregate family Taxodiaceae, it is now included in the monotypic subfamily Taiwanioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It is the second most basal member of the living Cupressaceae, with only Cunninghamia being more basal. Its lineage is thought to have diverged from the rest of Cupressaceae during the Middle Jurassic. 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.

Range

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 populations in mainland Asia were treated as a distinct species Taiwania flousiana by some botanists, but the cited differences between these and the Taiwanese population are not consistent when a number of specimens from each area are compared.

Morphology It is one of the largest tree species in Asia, reported to heights of up to 90 m (300 ft) tall and with a trunk up to 4 m (13 ft) diameter above buttressed base. The leaves are needle-like or awl-like and 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long on young trees up to about 100 years old, then gradually becoming more scale-like, 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long, on mature trees. The cones are small, 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) long, with about 15–30 thin, fragile scales, each scale with two seeds.

History 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.

Extraordinary specimens 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 (276 ft) in height. Referred to as the "Heavenly Sword of the Da'an River", it is the tallest tree in Taiwan.

See also Taiwania (supercomputer) Taiwanica

References

External links

Conifers Around the World Special Report - "Taiwania Day" in Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden Archived 2016-04-04 at the Wayback Machine.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Taiwania

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Taiwania claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Taiwania before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Taiwania ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Taiwania

In research: Taiwania appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Taiwania in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Taiwania is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cupressaceae, IUCN Red List vulnerable species, Monotypic conifer genera, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Taiwania outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Taiwania in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Taiwania means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Taiwania out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Taiwania in simple terms?

Taiwania, with the single living species Taiwania cryptomerioides, is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Etymology Taiwania means 'from Taiwan', while cryptomerioides means 'resembling Cryptomeria.

Why does Taiwania matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Taiwania?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Taiwania.