Chamaecyparis pisifera
Chamaecyparis pisifera | |
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Chamaecyparis pisifera Morton Arboretum acc. 745-27*4 |
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C. pisifera
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Chamaecyparis pisifera |
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Chamaecyparis pisifera (Sawara Cypress or Sawara Japanese: サワラ Sawara) is a species of false cypress, native to central and southern Japan, on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū.[1][2]
It is a slow-growing coniferous tree growing to 35–50 m tall with a trunk up to 2 m in diameter. The bark is red-brown, vertically fissured and with a stringy texture. The foliage is arranged in flat sprays; adult leaves are scale-like, 1.5–2 mm long, with pointed tips (unlike the blunt tips of the leaves of the related Chamaecyparis obtusa (Hinoki Cypress), green above, green below with a white stomatal band at the base of each scale-leaf; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs on the shoots. The juvenile leaves, found on young seedlings, are needle-like, 4–8 mm long, soft and glaucous bluish-green. The cones are globose, 4–8 mm diameter, with 6–10 scales arranged in opposite pairs, maturing in autumn about 7–8 months after pollination.[1]
A related cypress found on Taiwan, Chamaecyparis formosensis (Formosan Cypress), differs in longer ovoid cones 6–10 mm long with 10–16 scales.[1] The extinct Eocene species Chamaecyparis eureka, known from fossils found on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada, is noted to be very similar to C. pisifera.[3]
Uses
It is grown for its timber in Japan, where it is used as a material for building palaces, temples, shrines and baths, and making coffins, though less valued than the timber of C. obtusa. The wood is lemon-scented and light-colored with a rich, straight grain, and is rot resistant.[4]
It is also a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens, both in Japan and elsewhere in temperate climates including western Europe and parts of North America. A large number of cultivars have been selected for garden planting, including dwarf forms, forms with yellow or blue-green leaves, and forms retaining the juvenile needle-like foliage; particularly popular juvenile foliage cultivars include 'Plumosa', 'Squarrosa' and 'Boulevard'.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-068-4
- ↑ Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Chamaecyparis pisifera. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dallimore, W., & Jackson, A. B. (1966). A Handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae 4th ed. Arnold.
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Grove of 80-year-old trees
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Sawara Falsecypress Chamaecyparis pisifera Sprig 3008px.jpg
Foliage and cones
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Sawara Falsecypress Chamaecyparis pisifera Tree 2000px.jpg
Central trunk of a tree
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Sawara Falsecypress Chamaecyparis pisifera Bark 2000px.jpg
Bark
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Chamaecyparis Pisifera bonsai.JPG
Bonsai example
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Boulevard cypress.jpg
Foliage of the juvenile cultivar 'Boulevard', with soft feathery needle-like leaves
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Chamaecyparis pisifera golden charm sawara cypress MN 2007.JPG
Cultivar 'Golden Charm'
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External links
- Pages with broken file links
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Chamaecyparis
- Endemic flora of Japan
- Trees of Japan
- Least concern plants
- Garden plants of Asia
- Plants used in bonsai
- Ornamental trees
- Five sacred trees of Kiso