On Thursday, Nov. 5, chinese local authorities said that a Taxus chinensis tree assumed to be around 1,300 years old was found in Hunan Province in central China. The discovery was made during a census activity involving ancient trees.

Still up and about, the living tree stands inside the Shunhuangshan National Forest Park in Dong'an County, Yongzhou. As per records of the county's forestry bureau, the tree measures about 114 feet in height and about 7 feet in diameter.

Also called Chinese yew, the ancient tree was accompanied by two more subtrees of the same kind. The two trees were also believed to be more than a thousand years old. Reports said all the three trees have been well maintained by the residents.

The Taxus chinensis species is said to have existed for approximately 2.5 million years. The tree produces minimal number of seeds and thrives only in warm and moist environments.

In the 1990s, the bark and leaves of the Chinese yew was discovered to contain taxol, which has effective anti-cancer properties. With this, the population of the tree started to plummet by more than 50 percent. Plans to grow the number of trees have been raised; however, the risk of exploitation of wild plants is still expected to persist, but possibly at a lower rate than in the past.

"Exploitation has reduced the population in many areas of China although the species is still widespread," the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) wrote in its website.

The Taxus chinensis is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The tree grows in evergreen and transitory forests, most typically along streams. It can also be found in Vietnam, where it is located on steep slopes and ridges in subtropical or tropical forests. The tree also serves a purpose in the construction industry of China, as its wood is used to build furniture and wood carvings, among others. In Vietnam, the tree is also utilized for irrigation paddles in rice fields.

Aside from cancer, the tree also helps treat alkaloid poisoning through the oils that can be extracted from its seeds.

Photo: Nature And | Flickr