Chamaecyparis obtusa
Chamaecyparis obtusa | |
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A 700-year-old hinoki tree at Daichi-ji temple in Gifu Prefecture, Japan | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Cupressales |
Family: | Cupressaceae |
Genus: | Chamaecyparis |
Species: | C. obtusa
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Binomial name | |
Chamaecyparis obtusa | |
Subspecies | |
Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana |
Chamaecyparis obtusa (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress[2] or hinoki; Japanese:
Description
[edit]It is a slow-growing tree which may reach 35 m (115 ft) tall[5] with a trunk up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter.[citation needed] The bark is dark red-brown. The leaves are scale-like, 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long, blunt tipped (obtuse), green above, and green below with a white stomatal band at the base of each scale-leaf. The cones are globose, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) in diameter, with 8–12 scales arranged in opposite pairs.
Related species
[edit]The plant is widespread in Japan. The related Chamaecyparis pisifera (sawara cypress) can be readily distinguished in its having pointed tips to the leaves and smaller cones.[3][4] 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 having smaller cones (6–9 mm diameter) with smaller scales, and leaves with a more acute apex.[3][4]
Timber
[edit]It 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, baths, table tennis blades and masu. The wood is lemon-scented, light pinkish-brown, with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot-resistant. For example, Horyuji Temple and Osaka Castle are built from hinoki wood. The hinoki grown in Kiso, used for building Ise Shrine, are called
Ornamental cultivation
[edit]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. It is also often grown as bonsai.[citation needed]
Cultivars
[edit]Over 200 cultivars have been selected, varying in size from trees as large as the wild species, down to very slow-growing dwarf plants under 30 cm (12 in) high. A few of the best known are listed below.[6][7][8] Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).[9]
- 'Crippsii'agm[10] makes a broad conic golden-green crown with a vigorous leading shoot, growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) or more tall
- 'Fernspray Gold'agm[11] – 3.5 m (11 ft), arching sprays of green/yellow branches
- 'Kamarachiba'agm[12] – spreading shrub, 45 cm (18 in) tall by 100 cm (39 in) wide, sprays of yellow-green
- 'Kosteri'agm[13] – sprawling dwarf to 2 m (6.6 ft) tall by 3 m (9.8 ft) wide, with brilliant green foliage
- 'Lycopodioides' reaches up to 19 m (62 ft) tall, with somewhat fasciated foliage.
- 'Minima' – under 10 cm (3.9 in) after 20 years with mid-green foliage
- 'Nana'agm[14] – dark green, rounded dwarf shrub to 1 m (3.3 ft)
- 'Nana Aurea'agm[15] – 2 m (6.6 ft), golden tips to the fans and a bronze tone in winter
- 'Nana Gracilis'agm[16] – crowded fans of tiny branches producing richly textured effects; often cited as dwarf but has reached 11 m (36 ft) tall in cultivation in Britain
- 'Nana Lutea'agm – compact, slow-growing, golden yellow selection which has become very popular; yellow counterpart to 'Nana gracilis'
- 'Spiralis' is an erect, stiff dwarf tree
- 'Tempelhof' growing to 2–4 m (6.6–13.1 ft) with green-yellow foliage that turns bronze in winter
- 'Tetragona Aurea' grows to around 18 m (59 ft) tall, with a narrow crown and irregular branching, the scale leaves in 4 equal ranks and branchlets tightly crowded, green and gold
- 'Tsatsumi Gold'agm[17] – 2 m (6.6 ft), contorted branches, yellow-green foliage
Chemistry
[edit]The lignans chamaecypanones A and B, obtulignolide, and isootobanone can be found in the heartwood of Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana.[18] The biflavones sciadopitysin, ginkgetin, isoginkgetin, podocarpusflavone B, 7,7''-O-dimethylamentoflavone, bilobetin, podocarpusflavone A, 7-O-methylamentoflavone, amentoflavone, hinokinin and hinokiflavone have been confirmed in the leaves of the plant.[19] Chamaecydin was first discovered in the seeds of C. obtusa.[20] The essential oil of Chamaecyparis obtusa contains a wide range of chemical compounds, including but not limited to the following: sabinene, elemol, myrcene, limonene, terpinen-4-ol, eudesmols,
Essential oil distilled from its wood is uniquely scented and highly valued.[24]
Pollen
[edit]Hinoki pollen can cause pollinosis, a specific type of allergic rhinitis. Chamaecyparis obtusa, along with Cryptomeria japonica (sugi, Japanese cedar), is the leading source of allergic pollen in Japan and a major cause of hay fever in Japan.[25]
Gallery
[edit]-
C. obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'
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Illustration
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Tanzawa Mountains, Japan
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Foliage; underside showing white stomatal lines
References
[edit]- ^ Farjon, A. (2013). "Chamaecyparis obtusa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T42212A2962056. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42212A2962056.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ a b c Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens. ISBN 1-84246-068-4.
- ^ a b c Rushforth, K. (1987). Conifers. Helm. ISBN 0-7470-2801-X.
- ^ "Chamaecyparis obtusa - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Lewis, J. (1992). The International Conifer Register Part 3: The Cypresses. London: Royal Horticultural Society.
- ^ Welch, H.; Haddow, G. (1993). The World Checklist of Conifers. Landsman's. ISBN 0-900513-09-8.
- ^ Tree Register of the British Isles
- ^ "AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 16. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kamarachiba'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kosteri'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Aurea'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana gracilis'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder – Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tsatsumi Gold'". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Kuo, Y.-H.; Chen, C.-H.; Chiang Y.-M. (2001). "Three novel and one new lignan, chamaecypanones A, B, obtulignolide and isootobanone from the heartwood of Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana". Tetrahedron Letters. 42 (38): 6731–6735. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(01)01272-2.
- ^ Krauze-Baranowska, M.; Pobłocka, L.; El-Hela, A. A. (2005). "Biflavones from Chamaecyparis obtusa" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C. 60 (9–10): 679–685. doi:10.1515/znc-2005-9-1004. PMID 16320608. S2CID 819375.
- ^ Su, Wen-Chiung; Fang, Jim-Min; Cheng, Yu-Shia (1 October 1993). "Hexacarbocyclic triterpenes from leaves of Cryptomeria japonica" (PDF). Phytochemistry. 34 (3): 779–782. Bibcode:1993PChem..34..779S. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(93)85358-X. ISSN 0031-9422.
- ^ Raha, Suchismita; Kim, Seong; Lee, Ho; Lee, Sang; Heo, Jeong; Venkatarame Gowda Saralamma, Venu; Ha, Sang; Kim, Eun; Mun, Sung; Kim, Gon (31 October 2018). "Essential oil from Korean Chamaecyparis obtusa leaf ameliorates respiratory activity in Sprague‑Dawley rats and exhibits protection from NF-
κ B-induced inflammation in WI38 fibroblast cells". International Journal of Molecular Medicine. 43 (1): 393–403. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2018.3966. PMC 6257863. PMID 30387810. S2CID 53391206. - ^ a b Lee, Geun-Shik; Hong, Eui-Ju; Gwak, Ki-Seob; Park, Mi-Jin; Choi, Kyung-Chul; Choi, In-Gyu; Jang, Je-Won; Jeung, Eui-Bae (January 2010). "The essential oils of Chamaecyparis obtusa promote hair growth through the induction of vascular endothelial growth factor gene". Fitoterapia. 81 (1): 17–24. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2009.06.016. PMID 19576968.
- ^ "Hinoki Japanese Cypress Essential Oil". Stillpoint Aromatics.
- ^ Su, Sharleen. "Distilling Taiwan's Native Scent". www.taiwan-panorama.com. Taiwan Panorama. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ Ishibashi, Akira; Sakai, Kenshi (December 2019). "Dispersal of allergenic pollen from Cryptomeria japonica and Chamaecyparis obtusa: characteristic annual fluctuation patterns caused by intermittent phase synchronisations". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 11479. Bibcode:2019NatSR...911479I. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47870-6. PMC 6685964. PMID 31391490. S2CID 199474476.
External links
[edit] Media related to Chamaecyparis obtusa at Wikimedia Commons