(Thujopsis dolabrata (L. f.) Siebold et Zucc.)
Habitus
- in its homeland (Japan) it grows to a height of 25 - 30 m
- in our country it is often only as a shrub
- branches grow in piglets
- the bork is reddish-brown cracked into thin longitudinal plates
Leaves (assimilation organs)
- assimilation organs (leaves) are scaly
- leaves grow in opposite pairs (overlapping in a tiled way)
- the upper side is dark green, glossy
- the central scales are bluntly terminated - they deviate only slightly from the shoot, on the underside they have two narrower chalky-white stripes
- the lateral scales deviate more from the shoot and have one wider (distinctive) chalky-white stripe on the underside
- Compared to thuja and cypress, the leaves are noticeably wider and with a more pronounced white pattern on the underside
Flowers
- it is a monoecious woody plant, flowers are multisexual (cone-shaped)
Fruits – seeds
- the fruit is a cone, 12-15 mm in size, broadly ovate to spherical
Extension
- it is originally widespread in Japan on the islands of Honshu, Shikoko and Kyushu in mountain forests at altitudes of 600 - 1,800 m above the sea level
- it forms homogeneous, but also mixed stands with the Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), the Pea-bearing Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera), the Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi), (Sciadopitys verticillata) and other species
- in Slovakia it occurs only as a cultivated species
Ecology
- it is semi-woody woody plant
- it requires moister soils and higher air humidity
- it is relatively sensitive to low temperatures
- it grows relatively slowly
Significance
- it is decorative woody plant (shrub) with white bands on the underside of the scales
- Various forms are known – in shape and color
