Wu Yi

Torreya grandis is a dioecious evergreen coniferous tree of the family Taxaceae, native to eastern China and reaching 12-25 m in height with a broadly conical crown and dark grey, fissured bark. The linear-lanceolate leaves are 1.5-3 cm long, dark glossy green above with two pale stomatal bands beneath, arranged in two ranks along the twigs and ending in a sharp point. Male and female cones are borne on separate trees; the seed is enclosed in a fleshy, glaucous green to purplish aril 2-3 cm long, ripening in the autumn of the second year. The kernel is hard-shelled, oily, almond-like in flavour and has long been gathered as both food and medicine in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.