448 CUPRESSUS 



C. NOOTKATENSIS, Lambert. YELLOW CYPRESS. 



(Thuyopsis borealis, Carrier e?) 



A tree 120 ft. high, with a trunk 5 or 6 ft. in diameter ; as known in 

 cultivation of rather slender, pyramidal form when young, becoming pro- 

 portionately broader later ; the smaller branches two-ranked, more or less 

 pendulous ; the ultimate divisions ^ to T ^ in. wide, sometimes terete, oftenest 

 four-angled, but broader than thick. Leaves in four ranks and of about 

 equal size, ^ to \ in. long, abruptly and sharply pointed, not often glandular, 

 dark green. Cones \ to \ in. across, globose, rather glaucous, with usually four 

 (sometimes six) scales that are furnished in the middle part with a triangular- 

 pointed boss; ripening the second year. 



Native of Western N. America from Alaska to Oregon ; discovered by 

 Menzies in 1793, an d introduced about 1853. It is, from a garden point of 

 view, undoubtedly one of the finest and most desirable of the cypresses, 

 growing rapidly, being very hardy, and almost invariably preserving a healthy, 

 vigorous appearance. Nor does it seem fastidious as to soil. Among the 

 Chamaecyparis group of cypresses it is distinguished by the four-angled 

 branchlets, due to the ridged centre of the leaves. 



Var. COMPACTA. A dwarf form of dense habit. 



Var. LUTEA. Young shoots yellow, finally green. A vigorous and hand- 

 some form. 



Var. PENDULA. A very striking variety in which the trunk is erect, the 

 primary branches about horizontal, and the leaf-bearing branchlets hanging as 

 slender streamers from the lower side of the branches in a quite vertical line. 



There are various variegated forms, but except for var. lutea above 

 mentioned, they are not of much value ; var. ARGENTEO-VARIEGATA has a 

 proportion of the young shoots creamy white, in AUREO-VARIEGATA they are 

 quite yellow. 



C. OBTUSA, Koch. HlNOKI CYPRESS. 



(Retinispora obtusa, Siebold^ 



A tree 100 to 120 ft. high in Japan, with a reddish brown trunk 3 or 4 ft. in 

 diameter. Branches horizontal or depressed, bearing the successive ramifica- 

 tions in two opposite horizontally spreading rows. The final leaf-bearing sub- 

 divisions are, leaves and all, about T ^ in. wide, and rather flattened. Leaves 

 scale-like, not glandular, of two sizes, the lateral pairs the larger, about ^ in. 

 long, somewhat boat-shaped, clasping the smaller ones above and beneath ; all 

 are blunt, thick, and fleshy, rich green above, paler beneath. The margin of 

 every leaf beneath is defined by a thin line of glaucous bloom, which gives a 

 variegated appearance. Cones solitary on a short branch, ^ in. diameter, 

 brown scales usually eight, the surface slightly hollowed towards the centre, 

 where is a small projection. 



Native of Japan, and long cultivated there for its beauty and for its 

 timber ; introduced by John Gould Veitch in 1861. It yields the most valuable 

 of Japanese timbers. As an ornamental tree in the British Isles it is very 

 pleasing. It does not grow very fast, and the largest trees in the country are 

 only about 40 ft. high, but well-grown specimens are very graceful in their soft 

 feathery branching. It likes a good moist soil, but will not thrive where there 

 is lime. With age and on poor soils it is apt to get thin, but this can to some 

 extent be remedied by clipping oft" the ends of the shoots to induce denser 

 branching a process it bears very well. It is one of the favourite subjects of 

 the Japanese for dwarfing. It is well distinguished from C. pisifera and C. 

 Lawsoniana by its blunt, round-ended leaves, and the thin glaucous line just 

 beyond the margins beneath. 



