in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Davidsonia

60associated ligneous vegetation included a similar sized Magnolia insignisimmediately next to the goat horn tree. Nearby were fine specimens ofAcer davidii (PW 74) with massive leaves (similar to A. davidii ‘GeorgeForrest’), Liquidambar formosana, and overhanging specimens of Cyclocaryapaliurus and Cladrastis sinensis. The headman of a local village guided us toseveral other Carrierea locations the following day. My second collection(PW 84) was from a 15m (49ft) tree growing within vigorous secondarymesic forest. The trees here had obviously been ‘drawn up’ by thesurrounding forest, yet still displayed full, healthy crowns. They grewin small groups or as single trees at the base of moist, north-east facingrocky slopes. Despite the thin soils, they appeared to receive year roundmoisture. The soils at these sites ranged from moderately to weaklycalcareous. Leachate from the limestone cliffs above percolated downtowards the Dasha He, where the most of the goat horn tree populationsoccurred. Surrounding trees included, Betula luminifera, Cornusmacrophylla, Corylus chinensis and Idesia polycarpa (another member of theFlacourtiaceae [Salicaceae]). These grew amongst a rich herbaceousflora that included colonies of a curious, viviparous Senecio bulbiferusand a gargantuan Ligularia wilsoniana (giant groundsel) that had floweringstems up to 3m (9.8ft) tall. Wild pigs evidently excavate and relishthe fleshy roots of the groundsel. Small groups and individuals of theCarrierea were mixed within the forest along streams or where moisturewas flowing through the soil profile. It is a pioneer species that prefersmoist forest margins and riparian sites, which, if left undisturbed,will eventually give way to broadleaved evergreen forest dominated byhusky oak relatives, such as Castanopsis chunii, C. platyacantha and Lithocarpushancei. Much of the lowland forest of this reserve appeared tobe regrowth after clearing for subsistence rice cultivation several hundredyears ago. Vestiges of old terracing and abandoned walnut (Juglanscathayensis) groves were clearly visible. Today, the main threat to the reserveis illegal tree cutting and collection of traditional herbal plants byitinerant peasants from the Chongqing municipal region (Sichuan) whoenter from the north. The reserve is also home to a very rare walnutrelative, Annamocarya sinensis (Chinese hickory), which is at the northernlimit of its distribution.