Torreya californica is a species of conifer endemic to California, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is commonly known as California torreya or California nutmeg tree (although not closely related to true nutmeg). It is one of only two species of genus Torreya that are native to North America. California torreya is an evergreen tree growing to 15–25 meters tall, with a trunk diameter of 0.5–1 meters (exceptionally 2 meters). A champion-scale tree, photographed in 2022 at Samuel Taylor State Park north of San Francisco, is shown in the photo to the right (notice the human touching the tree). In full sun, the crown is conical in overall shape, with whorled branches. But in subcanopy shade, the tree may grow leaning and sometimes multi-stem. The leaves are needle-like, stiff, sharp pointed, 3–5 cm long and 3 mm broad; they are arranged spirally, but twisted at the base to lie flat either side of the shoots. As with all species of genus Torreya, the male (pollen) cones are 5–7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (seed) cones are single or grouped two to five together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe-like structure with the single large nut-like seed 2.5–4 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, dark green to purple at full maturity in the fall.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Torreya californica across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile1 class
Taxane diterpenoids $ Tetracyclic diterpenoids1
Documented compounds1 total
Compound
Class
Amount
Source
Paclitaxel
present
LOTUS
05DNA & barcoding8 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Torreya californica has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens8
Marker genes4
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections8
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
Torreya californica isolate P24 small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1 and 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene, complete sequence; and internal transcribed spacer 2, partial sequence
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK2★rbcL6★ITS2★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualTorreya californica carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Genome size21 564 900 000 bp
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb
FUNGUS0.04 Gb
INSECT0.25 Gb
HUMAN3.2 Gb
WHEAT17 Gb
THIS GENOME Torreya californica21.56 Gb
FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 16 n = 8
Ploidydiploid inferred
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
2n 161×CCDB · eflora
CCDB · eflora
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin7.19 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type2 223 records
Wild obs. + sensor1 787
Museum / vouchered406
Cultivated / captive2
Fossil28
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO2 464 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy88% within 1 km
≤100 m 997≤1 km 196≤10 km 109>10 km 53
1 355 georeferenced · 432 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor1 787
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy54% within 1 km
≤100 m 12≤1 km 124≤10 km 109>10 km 6
251 georeferenced · 155 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence406
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy
no georeferenced coordinates · 2 records without
Open the mapnot free-living2
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions39 of 61 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Claremont, US
37
Davis, US
34
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
20
San Luis Obispo, US
17
Bronx, US
17
Angwin, US
16
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
15
Santa Barbara, US
14
Arcata, US
14
US
12
Kew, GB
8
MeiseBGlocation not on record
7
Rotorua, NZ
7
San Jose, US
7
San Diego, US
7
Wlocation not on record
6
Long Beach, US
5
LDlocation not on record
4
Los Angeles, US
4
ASUlocation not on record
4
Northridge, US
4
Fullerton, US
4
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
4
Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record
3
Santa Cruz, US
3
Auckland, NZ
3
Fredericton Stock Culture Collectionlocation not on record
3
Saint Louis, US
3
Wuzhou, CN
2
Bangkok, TH
2
Tampa, US
2
Boise, US
2
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
2
Flagstaff, US
2
Stockholm, SE
2
University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record
2
Riverside, US
2
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
2
Appalachian State Universitylocation not on record
2
Philadelphia, US
2
Cambridge, US
2
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record
2
STNFlocation not on record
1
Fort Bragg, US
1
WTUlocation not on record
1
EL PASO, US
1
San Francisco, US
1
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
1
Mississippi State, US
1
Museo Achille Folettolocation not on record
1
Phoenix, US
1
Christchurch, NZ
1
Corvallis, US
1
Irvine, US
1
Turlock, US
1
Bloomington, US
1
GJOlocation not on record
1
University of Silesia in Katowicelocation not on record
1
València, ES
1
BRNUlocation not on record
1
PRClocation not on record
1
61 institutions · 329 of 406 vouchered records shown · 71 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA8 detections
Where the DNA of Torreya californica was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found8
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 8 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation8 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 223 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics8 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗