220 A MAttUAL OP THE CONIFERS. 



pointed, and more closely appressed to the branchlets. It was 

 sent to ns from the Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, in Java, by 

 Mr. Thomas Lobb in 1853. 



Oryptomeria japonica nana.— A small procumbent bushy shrub, 

 rarely exceeding 2 feet in height. It is useful for the rock garden, 

 and for adding variety to a collection of small Coniferous plants. 



Oryptomeria japonica spiralis.— A very curious and interesting 

 variety, of slender habit. The falcate leaves are so closely appressed 

 as to give them the appearance of a spiral thread wound round the 

 branchlets. 



Other varieties have been called respectively araucarioides, dacry- 

 dioides, monstrosa, &c, all of which have been introduced from 

 Japanese gardens. 



The Oryptomeria is one of the finest trees in Japan. It has 

 received assiduous attention from Japanese horticulturists for centuries 

 past, who possess many useful and interesting varieties of it, including 

 those above described. It is not only common in gardens throughout 

 the country, but it is also planted to form avenues along the public 

 roads, especially along the approaches to spots associated with important 

 historic personages or events. One of the finest of these avenues, 

 and probably one of the most remarkable of its kind in the world, 

 is that leading from the town of Namada through Outsonomeya 

 to Mkko, celebrated as the burial place of one of the greatest of 

 Japanese rulers in former times. This avenue extends for a distance 

 of 50 miles, and consists chiefly of Cryptomeria japonica, the trunk 

 of every tree being as straight as an arrow, and averaging from 130 to 

 150 feet in height, by 12 to 15 feet in circumference at the base. 

 The avenue is not straight the whole distance, but has many windings, 

 which enhances its effect. It was planted by one of the old feudal 

 lords about three hundred years ago, and was presented by him to the 

 then Shogum or Military Euler of the country. There is another fine 

 avenue of Cryptomerias on the Hakoni road to Fusi-Yama, extending 

 for several miles. 



Dr. Siebold has pointed out* that the Cryptomeria introduced 

 by Mr. Fortune, from China, is not the true Sungi, or Cryptomeria 

 of Japan, but a variety of it, differing from the Japanese species 

 in having its branchlets pendulous, and the ultimate branchlets 

 longer ; the leaves are also much longer, more slender, and more 

 bent. The true Sungi is distinguished by its more spreading and stiffer 



* Fl. Jap., II., p. 48, 1870. 



