Cedar, Japanese

Cryptomeria j. is an upright, conical-shaped tree with and a narrow crown with typically one straight trunk having finer drooping branches and shallow roots. Native to the central and southern islands of Japan.

The Japanese Cedar is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to 230 ft. tall and 13 ft. trunk; It is superficially similar to the related Giant Sequoia (Sequoia Dendron giganteum), from which it can be differentiated by the longer leaves (under 0.5 cm in the Giant Sequoia) and smaller cones (4–6 cm in the Giant Sequoia), and the harder bark on the trunk (thick, soft and spongy in Giant Sequoia).

The LEAVES are evergreen, awl-shaped, spirally arranged; 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, curving inward toward the twig; staying green (may be bronze or brown in winter), persistent for several years.

FLOWERS are Monoecious; females round, light green, with loose scales; males light brown, appearing from leaf axils near branch tips; appearing in early spring.

FRUIT is round cone, 1 inch across, numerous sharp pointed scales giving it a spiny appearance; reddish brown and the SEED cones globular, 0.39–0.79 inches in diameter with about 20–40 scales.

TWIGS are moderately stout and green for several years with a drooping habit. The BARK is attractive, vertically peeling in strips, reddish brown in color.

Speculation about the age of the ancient trees in Japan varies widely, but the most likely number would be between 1000-3000 years old.

Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica (syn. Cupressus japonica L.f.). It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi (Japanese: ?). The tree is often called Japanese cedar in English, though the tree is not related to the true cedars (Cedrus).