PICEA POLITA. 



447 



Picea polita is the most distinct of the Japanese Spruce Firs, one 

 that has not been confused with any other, nor encumbered with a 

 perplexing synonymy. It has now become very rare in the wild state 

 in Japan ; isolated trees, often of miserable aspect, only are to be seen 

 scattered over the mountainous districts from the extreme south to 

 about the 38th parallel of north latitude, beyond which it is 

 nowhere found wild. It is much cultivated by the Japanese for 

 the decoration of their gardens and temple enclosures, and for these 



Fig. 110. Foliage and cone of Picea. polita. 



purposes it has obtained a much more extended distribution, but 

 under cultivation it is invariably of smaller dimensions. In Great 

 Britain, in its young state when fairly vigorous, it is one of the 

 most attractive of Firs ; the light yellowish bark of the branchlets, 

 the shining red-brown buds and the lively green of the foliage 

 present a variety of colours that is seldom seen so effectively in 

 any other species. It does not, however, thrive so well in the drier 

 climate of England as in Japan and in New Zealand, where it has 



