PINACEAE. CHAMAECYPARIS OBTUSA 77 



broad-leaved trees as Aesculus turbinata Bl., Acanthopanax sciadophylloides Fr. & 

 Sav., Acer rufinerve S. & Z., Magnolia obovata Thunb. and occasional trees of Quercus 

 mongolica, var. grosse-serrata Rehd. & Wils. On the upper slopes of Koya-san it is 

 the dominant tree in the forests. In Tosa province, Shikoku, I met with it at 

 Nishinokawa in mixed forests with Pseudotsuga japonica Beissn., where Tsuga 

 Sieboldii Carr. is the principal tree; also on Shiraga-yama between 1000 and 1500 m. 

 altitude with Tsuga Sieboldii Carr., Pinus parviflora S. & Z., Abies firma S. & Z. 

 and broad-leaved trees such as Stewartia monadelpha S. & Z., Magnolia obovata 

 Thunb. and Acer palmatum Thunb. I also collected it on Yaku-shima in the Cryp- 

 tomeria forests at about 1300 m. altitude, where, however, it is rare. Very prob- 

 ably it is more or less common on the slopes of all the older mountains from the 

 region of the Kiso-gawa in central Hondo southward, but I never met with it on 

 those of active, quiescent or recently extinct volcanoes. It would appear also to 

 grow in Formosa. Dr. Hayata showed me copious material from that island and I 

 could detect no real difference between it and specimens collected in Japan. 

 Nevertheless, until more is known concerning the Formosan tree it is best to con- 

 sider it distinct as Hayata has done. 1 



As I saw it in Japan Chamaecyparis obtusa delights in cool rocky slopes and 

 prefers a northerly aspect and at its best grows 50 m. tall with a trunk from 5 to 

 6 m. in girth. But the average size of the tree in the forests is from 27 to 35 m. in 

 height, and from 2.5 to 4 m. in girth of trunk. The trunk is straight, more or less 

 buttressed at the base, and clean of branches for from a third to a half of the height 

 of the tree. The branches are slender, horizontally and rather widely spreading, 

 and form a more or less oval crown which is rounded at the summit; the branch- 

 lets are more or less pendulous. The bark is smooth, red-brown (grayish when 

 much exposed) and peels off in long thin sheets. This bark is highly valued for 

 roofing purposes, since it withstands the extremes of heat and damp and is very 

 durable. In the old days the palaces of the Emperor and of many feudal princes 

 and the Shinto temples were mainly built of the wood of this tree and always 

 roofed with its bark. The wood is white to straw-color and often slightly pinkish, 

 and when green has a strong rancid smell which persists for a long time; it is 

 straight-grained, light, strong and tough, remarkably free from knots and resin 

 and has a lustrous surface which takes lacquer remarkably well. It is used for the 

 frames of temples, for panels, ceilings and interior finishing of the best houses 

 and for many other purposes. The Japanese consider this wood superior to that 

 of any other of their conifers. On this account the tree is being much used in 

 Japan in reafforestation work and for this purpose it is raised from seeds. Being 

 more exacting in the matter of soil and situation than the only slightly less 

 valuable Cryptomeria, this Chamaecyparis is given the best sites and is planted in 

 annually increasing numbers in all favorable places from southern Kyushu and 

 Shikoku to northern Hondo, where I saw it thriving near Aomori. 



The Hinoki, as this tree is called in Japan, is sacred among the disciples of the 

 Shinto faith, and it is planted in the courtyards and in the neighborhood of Shinto 

 and Buddhist temples, where often, as at Mitsumine in Musashi province, fine 

 specimens may be seen. The tree has long been a great favorite in Japanese gar- 

 dens where dwarf, yellow-leaved variegated and other abnormal forms have origi- 

 nated. In eastern North America it is hardy as far north as Halifax in Nova 

 Scotia. On the estate of the late Dr. George R. Hall, there are trees from 16 to 18 m. 

 tall, with trunks a metre in girth. Unless planted close together the tendency is for 



1 C. obtusa, i.formosana Hayata in Jour. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, XXV. 208 (1908). 



