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Japanese cunninghamia

Cunninghamia lanceolata · Cupressaceae · all Cunninghamia records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: No test or rating condition is normalized.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 1 source placement record; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Global; eastern US
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in DC, DE, LA, MD, NC, NJ, OH, PA, WV.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: No introduced or established row is normalized; that does not prove native status.
USDA hardiness: Only uncertain or inapplicable hardiness rows are cited; no primary zone is projected.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: Set a location for an exact legal-list result; source silence is not clearance.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: 1 ecological invasive report; set a location to distinguish exact from regional context.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Japanese cunninghamia (Cunninghamia lanceolata) — Photo: (c) Sagnik Dutta Roy, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: tree
USDA hardiness: Only uncertain or inapplicable source rows; no primary zone projected
Mature height: ~50 ft
Light: Full sun
Grows in: DC, DE, LA, MD, NC, NJ, OH, PA +1
Rated in: Global; eastern US
Family: Cupressaceae
Evidence: 18 cited sources

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record cunninghamia-lanceolata · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 6 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Cunninghamia lanceolata · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 3 — 10–30 ft from the structure; thin vegetation, remove debris, and minimize plant massing [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (with its avoid rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (1)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“NOT Firewise (4)”

Strange flat green to blue needles born in a single plane. Very pointed needles that are held on to tree after they have died. Suckers readily forming impenetrable clumps.

Listed without a rating (17)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

17 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “time to flaming (s): 10.01” · score 10.01 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 603; Ignitability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Belcher2016-1; sampling ND. Primary study Belcher2016: Belcher, C. M. (2016). The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371, 20150163.
- “burning duration (s): 41.65” · score 41.65 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 618; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Belcher2016-1; sampling ND. Primary study Belcher2016: Belcher, C. M. (2016). The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371, 20150163.
- “maximum energy release rate (kW): 4.46” · score 4.46 (FLAMITS — maximum energy release rate (kW))
  
  FLAMITS record 633; Combustibility measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Belcher2016-1; sampling ND. Primary study Belcher2016: Belcher, C. M. (2016). The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371, 20150163.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 2736.85” · score 2736.85 (FLAMITS — calorific value (kcal/kg))
  
  FLAMITS record 648; Combustibility measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Belcher2016-1; sampling ND. Primary study Belcher2016: Belcher, C. M. (2016). The influence of leaf morphology on litter flammability and its utility for interpreting palaeofire. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371, 20150163.
- “maximum flame temperature (°C): 418” · score 418 (FLAMITS — maximum flame temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 1303; Combustibility measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “maximum flame temperature (°C): 618” · score 618 (FLAMITS — maximum flame temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 1305; Combustibility measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “maximum flame temperature (°C): 644” · score 644 (FLAMITS — maximum flame temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 1307; Combustibility measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “burning duration (s): 142” · score 142 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1309; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “burning duration (s): 133” · score 133 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1311; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “burning duration (s): 132” · score 132 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1313; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “rate of burning spread (cm/s): 0.12” · score 0.12 (FLAMITS — rate of burning spread (cm/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1315; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “rate of burning spread (cm/s): 0.53” · score 0.53 (FLAMITS — rate of burning spread (cm/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1317; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “rate of burning spread (cm/s): 0.59” · score 0.59 (FLAMITS — rate of burning spread (cm/s))
  
  FLAMITS record 1319; Sustainability measurement; plant part litter; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Cornwell2015-1; sampling january to march. Primary study Cornwell2015: Cornwell, W. K., Elvira, A., van Kempen, L., van Logtestijn, R. S., Aptroot, A., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2015). Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size. New Phytologist, 206, 672-681.
- “maximum flame temperature (°C): 593.496” · score 593.496 (FLAMITS — maximum flame temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 15556; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Zhang2022-1; sampling january and march 2011. Primary study Zhang2022: Zhang, S., Cornwell, W. K., Zhao, W., van Logtestijn, R. S., Krab, E. J., Aerts, R., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2022). Experimental evidence that leaf litter decomposability and flammability are decoupled across gymnosperm species. Journal of Ecology, 111, 761-772.
- “flaming duration (s): 1” · score 1 (FLAMITS — flaming duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 15597; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel all; predrying yes; device burning bench; site Zhang2022-1; sampling january and march 2011. Primary study Zhang2022: Zhang, S., Cornwell, W. K., Zhao, W., van Logtestijn, R. S., Krab, E. J., Aerts, R., & Cornelissen, J. H. (2022). Experimental evidence that leaf litter decomposability and flammability are decoupled across gymnosperm species. Journal of Ecology, 111, 761-772.
- “time to flaming (s): 20” · score 20 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 18701; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Tian2003-1; sampling ND. Primary study Tian2003: Tian, X., Shu, L., & Zhang, X. (2003). Study on the influence of microstructure of trees twig and leaf on combustibility. Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 39, 8488.
- “energy flux (kW/m²): 25” · score 25 (FLAMITS — energy flux (kW/m²))
  
  FLAMITS record 18711; Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Tian2003-1; sampling ND. Primary study Tian2003: Tian, X., Shu, L., & Zhang, X. (2003). Study on the influence of microstructure of trees twig and leaf on combustibility. Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 39, 8488.

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Fire-resistant trees listed above

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

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Cunninghamia lanceolata (Japanese cunninghamia). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/cunninghamia-lanceolata/. Last verified 2026-08-23.