496 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFERiE 



be quite sound. Timber produced by ornamental trees in the 

 British Isles is soft and too quickly grown to be of good quaUty. 

 Wood from forest-grown trees would probably be serviceable for 

 many purposes. As firewood its fuel value is low. There is a 

 large export trade from California to Europe, China, Japan, and 

 other countries. 



S. sempervirens hves to a great age, many trees ranging 

 between 400-800 years with a sprinkling of older trees. It 

 grows on rocky slopes where there is little soil, and in moist 

 valleys with a considerable alluvial deposit. In the drier parts 

 it is mixed with other species, but in moist situations it forms 

 pure forests. The best trees are found in places where there is 

 considerable soil and atmospheric moisture, particularly where 

 dense mists prevail, even though the soil may not be rich. It 

 is one of the few conifers that reproduce themselves by sprouts 

 from the bases of felled trees, and cleared areas are partly or 

 wholly restocked by this means. Seeds are borne freely, but the 

 fertility percentage is low, and as seedlings are intolerant of shade, 

 they only succeed where there is plenty of light, and where there 

 is a favourable seed-bed. Owing to the thick, fibrous outer bark, 

 trees are rarely killed by forest fires, although branches may be 

 burned away. After the branches have been killed a dense 

 growth of short shoots may appear from the trunk, making the 

 tree a column of greenery. The same thing may happen to 

 forest-grown trees that have been isolated. The redwood thrives 

 in many parts of Britain, the best trees being found in moist 

 valleys where there is a generous deposit of soil. Specimens 

 over 100 ft. high are to be found from Cornwall to Inverness- 

 shire, their height being limited through lack of shelter. Propa- 

 gation is usually effected by seeds, although erect shoots from 

 the base of a tree may be rooted. The species is not troubled by 

 insect pests in England, but in California it has several insect 

 and fungus enemies. 



Jepson, Silva of California, 128(1910); The Redwood, U.S. Dept. of Agric.Biireau 

 of Forestry Biilletin, No. 38 ; Sudworth, Trees of the Pacific Slope, 145 (1908). 



TAIWANIA 

 Tamania cryptomerioides, Hayata.^ 



This remarkable conifer resembles Cryptomeria in habit, and 

 appears to be closely allied to Cunninghamia in the structure of 

 the cone. It chiefly differs from that genus, however, in having 

 2 ovules instead of 3 to each fertile scale. 



An evergreen tree of conical form nearly 200 ft. high and 20 



ft. or more in girth in Formosa. Trunk bare of branches for 



about 60 ft. from the ground, with a spreading head and dense 



foliage. Adult leaves about I in. long, thick, leathery, triangular, 



^ J cum. Ldnn. Soc. xxxvii, 330, pi. 16 (1906). 



