Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. var. formosana (Hayata) Hayata

Tree: evergreen; erect; 40 m maximum height; monoecious. Trunk: 3.6 m maximum diameter. Bark: brown, or red; smooth – scaly, or peeling off in strands. Crown: dense; columnar to narrowly or widely conical (pyramidal). Branches: ascending, or horizontal. Ultimate branchlets: 1.5–2.5 mm wide; 2–25 mm long; arranged in one plane; flattened in cross-section; with white or glaucous marking.

 

Leaves: only adult leaves on adult plants; scaly. Scale leaves: 0.5–5 mm long; 0.7–2.5 mm wide; arranged oppositely; bright green; apically spreading, or closely appressed; two types of leaves (differentiation in lateral and facial leaves = dimorphic); tip blunt, or acute; with conspicuous, inconspicuous, or without glands; without white resin; with, or without resin glands on leading shoots. Lateral leaves: 1–5 mm long; facial and lateral leaves conspicuously unequal in length; visibly adjoined (facial leaves are not overlapping). Facial leaves: 0.5–3 mm long.

 

Male cones: 0.5–5 mm long; 0.5–3 mm wide; solitary; 10–12 male cone scales; 5–6 male cone scale whorls; ovoid, or oblong; yellow, bright brown, red, or orange. Male cone scales: arranged oppositely; 1–4 pollen sacs per male cone scale.

 

Female cones: 7.5–11 mm long; 8–11 mm wide; 8–10 cone scales; globose; cone-like (open after maturity); woody; not disintegrating after maturity; reddish, or dark; young cones greenish or green with bluish coating. Female cone scales: arranged oppositely; inserted on different levels in mature cones; without several small additional cone scales on the female cone; tip blunt; with dorsal depression, or with small dorsal umbo; umbo more or less in the centre. Columella: 1–4 mm long; simple (round, angled at the apex, or a flat, woody plate).

 

Seeds: 1.5–4 mm long; 2.5–5 mm wide; 24–48 seeds per cone; dark brown – black; 2–7 seeds per female cone scale; flattened. Seed wings: 0.2–2 mm wide; 2 (almost) equal wings.

 

Supplement: maturity in the first year; 2 cotyledones; 22 chromosomes (2n). Cultivation: cultivated in Germany; cultivated outdoor in the Ruhr Area (hardiness zone 7); Distribution: Asia: Taiwan. IUCN Red List: vulnerable. Synonyms: Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl., Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. var. formosana (Hayata) Hayata, Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. ssp. formosana (Hayata) H. L. LI, Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. var. obtusa f. formosana Hayata [1910], Cupressus obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) F. Muell. var. obtusa f. formosana (Hayata) Clinton-Baker, Cupressus obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) F. Muell., Cupressus obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) F. Muell. var. formosana (Hayata) Dallim. & A. B. Jacks. [homo]. Common name: Hinoki-Scheinzypresse (GER).