CHAPTER XI: THE ARBOR VIT^ES 



Genus THUYA, Linn. 



Evergreen resinous ornamental trees of slender, pyramidal 

 habit, with intricately branched limbs, and flat, open spray. 

 Leaves scale-like, 4-ranked, minute, closely appressed to twigs. 

 Flowers solitary, terminal, small aments, monoecious, scaly. 

 Fruits erect, loose, ovoid cones, of few thin scales; seeds few, 

 usually two. Uses: trees especially adapted for formal gardens, 

 clipped hedges and shelter belts. Wood variously employed. 



KEY TO SPECIES 



A. Cone with 4 fertile scales, as a rule; bark orange red. 



(T. occidentalis) arbor vvvm 

 AA. Cone with 6 fertile scales, as a rule; bark cinnamon red. 



(7. plicaia) giant arbor vum 



Four distinct species of Thuya are recognised. Two are 

 native to Japan and China. The Chinese T. orienialis, one of the 

 most popular decorative evergreens, is cultivated especially in 

 Southern gardens. It is offered in several varieties, T. Japonica 

 is a hardy species of lusty growth with white spots on the dark 

 green of its leaf linings. A Japanese genus, Thuyopis, with one 

 species, is one of the handsomest of Oriental evergreens introduced 

 into cultivation here. It is hardy to Massachusetts, but suffers 

 from drought. Its flat, frond-like spray resembles arbor vitae, 

 from which the genus is distinguished by having 4 to 5 ovules 

 under each scale of the cone. 



Arbor Vitse {Thuya occidentalis, Linn.) A conical, com- 

 pact, resinous evergreen, 25 to 65 feet high, with short, ascending 

 branches and flat, frond-like spray. Bark light brown, thin, 

 cracking into ridges with frayed-out, stringy edges; branches 

 smooth, red, shining. IVood soft, brittle, coarse, durable in the 

 soil, light brown, fragrant. Buds naked, very small. Leaves, 

 both keeled and flat, 4-ranked, to fit the flat twig, scale-like, blunt, 



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