| Cathaya Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Subfamily: | Laricoideae |
| Genus: | Cathaya Chun & Kuang |
| Species: | C. argyrophylla
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| Binomial name | |
| Cathaya argyrophylla Chun & Kuang
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Cathaya is a genus in the pine family, Pinaceae, with one known living species, Cathaya argyrophylla.[2] Cathaya is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. A second species, C. nanchuanensis, is now treated as a synonym,[3] as it does not differ from C. argyrophylla in any characters.
Cathaya is confined to a limited area in southern China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and southeast Sichuan. It is found on steep, narrow mountain slopes at 950–1800 m altitude, on limestone soils. A larger population has been reduced by over-cutting before its scientific discovery and protection in 1950.
The leaves are needle-like, 2.5–5 cm long, have ciliate (hairy) margins when young, and grow around the stems in a spiral pattern. The cones are 3–5 cm long, with about 15–20 scales, each scale bearing two winged seeds.
One or two botanists, unhappy with the idea of a new genus in such a familiar family, tried to shoehorn it into other existing genera, as Pseudotsuga argyrophylla and Tsuga argyrophylla.[4] It is however very distinct from both of these genera, and these combinations are not now used.
The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia had a small living specimen. The tree died in 2017.
Whistling Gardens in Wilsonville, Ontario has a young specimen in its plant collection.
