CHAP. CXIIl, 



coni'ferjE. thuVa, 



24-59 



t 4. 



§ ii. Biota. 

 T. orientaYis L. The Oriental, or Chinese, Arbor Vitae. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1422. ; Willd. Sp. PI., p. 509. ; Baum., p. 505.'; Du Roi Harbk.,2. p. 458. ; 



Thunb. Jap., p. 266. ; Hort. Cliff., 449. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 11. ; Rich. Conif., p. 40. 

 Engravings. Dend. Brit., t 149. ; Rich. Conif., t. 7. f. 2. ; and Gmel. Fl. Sib., i. p. 182.; Smith in 



Rees's Cyc. ; and our fig. 2315. 



Spec. Char., S/'c. Branchlets 2-edged. Leaves imbricated in 4 rows, ovate- 

 rhomboid, adpressed, furi'owed along the middle. Cones elliptic ; interior 

 scales blunt, mucronate beneath the apex. ( Willd.) A low tree, or fastigiate 



shrub ; a native of rocky situations in China and Siberia ; and also, according 

 to Thunberg, on the mountains of Japan. (Fl. Jap., 266.) Introduced in 

 1752, and flowering in May. 

 Varieties. 



1 T. 0.2 stricta Hort.; T. pyramidalis Bauh. Cat., ed. 1837; and the 

 plate of this tree in our last Volume, from the specimen in the Hor- 

 ticultural Society's Garden ; is more fastigiate than the species in its 

 habit of growth, and forms a tall narrow shrub, or low tree. 

 « T. o. 3 taldrica, T. tatarica Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, has the leaves, and 

 the entire plant, rather smaller than the species. There is a plant in 

 the Horticultural Society's Garden, 6 ft. high. 



Description. A low tree or large shrub, distinguishable at first sight from the 

 American arbor vitEe, by its more dense habit of growth, by its branches being 

 chiefly turned upwards, and by its leaves or scales being smaller, closer to- 

 gether, and of a lighter greeii. The common height of full-grown trees of this 

 species is from 18 ft. to 20 ft. The trunk is straight, with a brownish and 

 somewhat rough bark ; the branches are numerous, pointing outwards, so as 

 to form almost a right angle with the stem ; but soon afterwards they are 

 turned upwards, in a direction almost parallel to the trunk. The leaves are 

 flattened, and of a darker green in winter than in summer : they are imbri- 

 cated, opposite, small, obtusely pointed, adpressed against the petioles, con- 

 vex, furrowed at the back, and furnished with a clear green, smooth, shining 

 gland. The male catkins are somewhat elongated, about 2 lines in length, 

 composed of pointed scales disposed in 4 ranks. The female catkins are 

 roundish, somewhat elongated, and composed of scales pointed at their summit. 



