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 PART 15— TORRE V A 



The collection of Torreyas consists of four trees of one kind 

 located on the eastern side of the yews (Map p. 137). See text, 

 last page of yews). 



In considering the last of the yews, we noted three trees on the 

 eastern side of the little evergreen enclosure where we were 

 located. The center lower bushy one was a yew. The other two 

 taller ones at the sides of it are 



Tumion nuciferum, the Japanese Torreya 



The other two trees of this kind are located about thirty-five 

 and forty feet north of these two and on the eastern side of this 

 entire evergreen collection. The very much smaller Plum Yew 

 forms a triangle with these two. 



This tree is the largest of its genus, attaining a height of 80 

 feet in Japan, but more often it is only a shrub 20 feet tall. It is 

 known to the Japanese as Kaya. An oil, kaya-no-abura, is ex- 

 tracted and considerably used for cooking in Japan. The kernels 

 of the seeds, which possess an agreeable and slightly resinous 

 flavor, are used as food. The wood is valued for shipbuilding and 

 cabinet-making. 



General Discussion 



There are four different known kinds of Tumion or Torreya. 

 Two of these are native. They are Tumion taxifolium, the Stink- 

 ing Cedar of Florida, and T. calif or nicum, the California Nutmeg 

 of California. The former, often called Chattahoochee Pine, 

 grows on limestone soil and like the Florida Yew is confined 

 almost wholly to one county. It reaches a height of 50 feet and 

 its wood has some local value. The bruised leaves and branches 

 give off an odor suggesting its common name. This same feature 

 is found in the California Nutmeg, whose seeds resemble nutmegs. 

 The fourth species is Tumion grande of China, where it is usually 

 a shrub but may become a tall tree. 



These Torreyas are interesting principally because they represent 

 only a few isolated spots on the earth, Florida, California, China, 

 and Japan. They are remnants of more abundant vegetation in 



