Thujopsis

Hiba arborvitae ( Thujopsis dolabrata ), branch

The Hiba Hiba - or tree of life ( Thujopsis dolabrata ) is the only species of the genus of the subfamily Thujopsis Cupressoideae in the family of the cypress family ( Cupressaceae ). Since the botanical classification of this type for a long time was very controversial, there are many synonyms like Thuja dolabrata, Platycladus dolabrata, Dolophyllum dolabratum, Thujopsis dolabrata australis var.

The Hiba arborvitae is one of the "Five trees of Kiso ", which were made ​​in 1708 in the Owari fief under protection.

Description

The Hiba arborvitae grows as a evergreen tree and reaches a height of 15 meters, in the British Isles to 20 meters. He is very slow. The thin bark is gray or reddish brown; it comes off in long strips. The crown is cone shaped. The scale-like leaves are 4-7 mm long and 1.5 to 2.2 mm wide; they are fresh green to yellowish green.

The Hiba arborvitae is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The male cones are cylindrical and dark green. Female pins are nearly spherical with a diameter of 1.0 to 1.6 cm, with six to eight woody cone scales. Per fertile scale Zapf three to five winged, dark brown, oblong to oval seeds develop, they are 4 to 5 mm long and 3.0 to 3.5 mm wide. The pollen count is January to March, and the seeds ripen takes place in August-November of the same year.

The seedlings have two seed leaves ( cotyledons ).

Possibility of confusion

You can see the arborvitae very similar, but differ from them by the round, woody cones that winged seeds and the larger leaves.

Dissemination

The Hiba is native to Japan. In Europe he was known from about 1853.

Cultivated forms

• 'Nana': variety with roundish, cantilevered growth form with greenish, sometimes into the bronze colored leaves on going. It is about 60 centimeters high and 150 centimeters wide.
• 'Variegata': In this form, the foliage is yellowish white, but always beats back in the green form.

Young plant

Branches of the cultivar ' Variegata'