Chamaecyparis obtusa

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Chamaecyparis obtusa

Chamaecyparis obtusa foliage

Conservation status

Near Threatened

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Cupressaceae
Genus:	Chamaecyparis
Species:	C. obtusa

Binomial name

Chamaecyparis obtusa
(Siebold & Zucc.) Endl.

Chamaecyparis obtusa is a conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to central Japan, commonly known as Hinoki cypress or Hinoki (Japanese: 檜 or 桧). It is a slow-growing tree which grows to 35 m tall with a trunk up to 1 m in diameter. The bark is dark red-brown. The leaves are scale-like, 2-4 mm long, blunt tipped (obtuse), green above, green below with a white stomatal band at the base of each scale-leaf. The cones are globose, 8-12 mm diameter, with 8-12 scales arranged in opposite pairs. The related Chamaecyparis pisifera (Sawara Cypress) can be readily distinguished in its having pointed tips to the leaves and smaller cones.

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 smaller cones 6-9 mm diameter with smaller scales.

1 Uses
2 Cultivars
- 2.1 Dwarf Cultivars
3 Problems
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Uses

Chamaecyparis obtusa is grown for its very high quality timber in Japan, where it is used as a material for building palaces, temples, shrines, traditional noh theatres, table tennis blades and baths. The wood is lemon-scented and light-colored with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot resistant.

It is also a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens, both in Japan and elsewhere in temperate climates including western Europe and parts of North America. A large number of cultivars have been selected for garden planting, including dwarf forms, forms with yellow leaves, and forms with congested foliage.

[edit] Cultivars

C.o. Crippsii makes a broad, golden pyramid with a vigorous leading shoot and is usually anout 10-15 ft (3-4.5 metres) tall.
C.o. Tetragona and Tetragona aurea are of similar height but narrower and more irregularly branched, their scale leaves in 4 equal ranks and branchlets tightly corwded, the former is a deep, slightly blue-green, the latter green and gold.

[edit] Dwarf Cultivars

The smallest of which are under 12in. The best known are:

C.o. Flabelliformis with pale green leaves to 6in (15cm).
C.o. Kosteri with apple green foliage.
C.o. Minima under 4in (10cm) after 20 years with mid-green foliage.
C.o. Nana gracilis and its many variants, little bun shaped trees normally 12-24 inches (30-60cm) high with crowded fans of tiny branches producing richly textured effects.
C.o. Nana aurea has golden tips to the fans and a bronze tone in winter.
C.o. Spiralis is an erect, stiff dwarf tree.
C.o. Tempelhof which grows to 8ft (2.4 metres) has a green-yellow foliage that turns bronze in winter.
C.o. Verdun has yellow-green young growth.