GENUS THUYA. 121 



THUYA (Linnceus) — including Biota and Thuyopsis. 

 THE ARBORVITyES. 



Flowers monoecious ; male catkins oval ; females solitary 

 and terminal. 



Cones small, oblong or globular ; scales thickened upwards, 

 valvate, and from six to ten in number. 



Seeds usually winged, in twos at the base of the lowermost 

 or middle pair of scales. 



Cotyledons two. 



Evergreen trees or shrubs, with appressed leaves and 

 usually oblong cones. The seeds are winged on both sides, 

 unless in the old genus Biota, in which this appendage is quite 

 wanting. 



Thuya dolabrata, Linnaeus. {Synonym: — Thuyopsis 

 ^<:?/«(^r«/rt:, Siebold and Zuccarini.) Mountains of Japan. 1853. 

 — For ornamental planting this conifer holds an important 

 place, its distinctive characteristics and the readiness with 

 which it may be cultivated being generally recognised. In 

 this country it forms a handsome conical specimen, with 

 vertical branches and drooping branchlets, the latter numerous 

 and much compressed. The leaves are flat and scale-like, 

 regularly imbricated, of a rich, shining, green above, and 

 silvery beneath. The cones are sub-globose, and nearly f of 

 an inch in diameter. It prefers rich moist loam or peaty soil, 

 and does not object to grow where shaded and hemmed 

 in by taller-growing trees. Shelter from cold winds is 

 imperative. 



T. dolabrata x\^r\Si{Syno7iym: — Thuyopsis Icetevirens, 

 Lindley). The Dwarf Japanese Thuya. — This is a slow- 

 growing, miniature bush, with comparatively small light 

 green foliage, more resembling a lycopod than a conifer. 

 The average height of a large number of old specimens 

 that I examined was only about 20 inches, while the 

 spread of the branches was nearly 3 feet. All are remark- 

 able for their tidy and uniform habit of growth, forming 



