Chamaecyparis obtusa
Chamaecyparis obtusa | |
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A 700-year-old hinoki tree at Daichi-ji temple in Gifu Prefecture, Japan | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Cupressales
|
Family: | Cupressaceae |
Genus: | Chamaecyparis |
Species: | C. obtusa
|
Binomial name | |
Chamaecyparis obtusa (
Endl. | |
Subspecies | |
Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana |
Chamaecyparis obtusa (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress[2] or hinoki; Japanese: 檜 or 桧, hinoki) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia,[3][4] and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and ornamental qualities, with many cultivars commercially available.
Description
It is a slow-growing tree which may reach 35 m (115 ft) tall[5] with a trunk up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter.[citation needed] The bark is dark red-brown. The leaves are scale-like, 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long, blunt tipped (obtuse), green above, and green below with a white stomatal band at the base of each scale-leaf. The cones are globose, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) in diameter, with 8–12 scales arranged in opposite pairs.
Related species
The plant is widespread in Japan. The related Chamaecyparis pisifera (sawara cypress) can be readily distinguished in its having pointed tips to the leaves and smaller cones.[3][4] A similar cypress found on Taiwan is treated by different botanists as either a variety of this species (as Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana) or as a separate species Chamaecyparis taiwanensis; it differs in having smaller cones (6–9 mm diameter) with smaller scales, and leaves with a more acute apex.[3][4]
Timber
It is grown for its very high-quality timber in Japan, where it is used as a material for building
Ornamental cultivation
It is also a popular
Cultivars
Over 200 cultivars have been selected, varying in size from trees as large as the wild species, down to very slow-growing dwarf plants under 30 cm (12 in) high. A few of the best known are listed below.[6][7][8] Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).[9]
- 'Crippsii'agm[10] makes a broad conic golden-green crown with a vigorous leading shoot, growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) or more tall
- 'Fernspray Gold'agm[11] – 3.5 m (11 ft), arching sprays of green/yellow branches
- 'Kamarachiba'agm[12] – spreading shrub, 45 cm (18 in) tall by 100 cm (39 in) wide, sprays of yellow-green
- 'Kosteri'agm[13] – sprawling dwarf to 2 m (6.6 ft) tall by 3 m (9.8 ft) wide, with brilliant green foliage
- 'Lycopodioides' reaches up to 19 m (62 ft) tall, with somewhat fasciated foliage.
- 'Minima' – under 10 cm (3.9 in) after 20 years with mid-green foliage
- 'Nana'agm[14] – dark green, rounded dwarf shrub to 1 m (3.3 ft)
- 'Nana Aurea'agm[15] – 2 m (6.6 ft), golden tips to the fans and a bronze tone in winter
- 'Nana Gracilis'agm[16] – crowded fans of tiny branches producing richly textured effects; often cited as dwarf but has reached 11 m (36 ft) tall in cultivation in Britain
- 'Nana Lutea'agm – compact, slow-growing, golden yellow selection which has become very popular; yellow counterpart to 'Nana gracilis'
- 'Spiralis' is an erect, stiff dwarf tree
- 'Tempelhof' growing to 2–4 m (6.6–13.1 ft) with green-yellow foliage that turns bronze in winter
- 'Tetragona Aurea' grows to around 18 m (59 ft) tall, with a narrow crown and irregular branching, the scale leaves in 4 equal ranks and branchlets tightly crowded, green and gold
- 'Tsatsumi Gold'agm[17] – 2 m (6.6 ft), contorted branches, yellow-green foliage
Chemistry
The
Essential oil distilled from its wood is uniquely scented and highly valued.[24]
Pollen
Hinoki pollen can cause
Gallery
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C. obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'
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Illustration
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Tanzawa Mountains, Japan
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Foliage; underside showing white stomatal lines
References
- . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ ISBN 1-84246-068-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-7470-2801-X.
- ^ "Chamaecyparis obtusa - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Lewis, J. (1992). The International Conifer Register Part 3: The Cypresses. London: Royal Horticultural Society.
- ISBN 0-900513-09-8.
- ^ Tree Register of the British Isles
- ^ "AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 16. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kamarachiba'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kosteri'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Aurea'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana gracilis'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tsatsumi Gold'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- .
- S2CID 819375.
- ISSN 0031-9422.
- S2CID 53391206.
- ^ PMID 19576968.
- ^ "Hinoki Japanese Cypress Essential Oil". Stillpoint Aromatics.
- ^ Su, Sharleen. "Distilling Taiwan's Native Scent". www.taiwan-panorama.com. Taiwan Panorama. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- S2CID 199474476.
External links
Media related to Chamaecyparis obtusa at Wikimedia Commons