60 HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES. 



the genus. Although perfectly hardy, it is somewhat fastidi- 

 ous and difficult to manage, and like many others of its 

 Chinese relatives, has its likes and dislikes, both as regards 

 soil and situation, but these being favourable, no more easily 

 cultivated tree or shrub will be found in the whole range of 

 coniferous trees. The branches are somewhat irregular of 

 growth, the branchlets recurved, pendulous, and feathery, and 

 well supplied with loosely imbricated bluish or greyish-green 

 foliage. The fruit or berries are oval-shaped, with one seed 

 in each, are of a pretty, dark purple colour, and shown off 

 well by the lightly tinted foliage. The tree is not, as stated 

 by Gordon, Veitch, and others, dioecious, but frequently pro- 

 duces male and female flowers on the same twig.^ Three 

 crops of berries are commonly found on the tree at one and 

 the same time, som.e being green, others suffused with a 

 bronzy tint, and the full ripe ones an enticing purple. 



It likes a moderately shady and sheltered situation, or 

 where all day long it will not be exposed to direct sunshine. 

 Cool, loamy peat would seem to be the soil in which it does 

 best. The largest and healthiest specimens that have come 

 under my own notice are growing close to the Abbey at 

 Woburn, and in front of the dwelling-house at Hafodunos,'^ 

 away amongst the Welsh hills. 



J. recurva squamata {Synonym :—/. densa) is a 

 much-branched, decumbent variety, with stiff, unyielding 

 branches, and very glaucous, rigid, sharp-pointed, scale-like 

 leaves. It is of little value as a decorative shrub. 



J. rigfida, Siebold et Zuccarini. Mountains of Japan, 

 1861. — I much fear that the specific name of this Ja- 

 panese conifer is responsible for its absence from many of 

 our parks and gardens. It should, however, be remembered 

 that the name rigida has nothing whatever to do with the 



1 For a full account of Junipcrus recurva, see my article in The Garden, vol. 

 xxix., 1886. 



2 There are many rare and beautiful conifers in the Hafodunos collection, and 

 I was particularly struck with the great size to which Tsuga Mertensiatia,JunipRrus 

 recurva, and many of the species of Abies and Picea, had attained at so high an 

 elevation above sea level. Sciadopitys verticillata I have never seen in finer form. 



