A shrub, with a straight trunk, bare of branches below. The branchlets, numerous, long, flexile, cord - like, unbranched or only slightly branched, are produced in irregular fascicles of 5 to 20 or more at irregular intervals along the branches. They are slender and pendent, and bear leaves distantly placed in 4 rows in decussate pairs. The leaves, broadly decurrent at the base and long acuminate at the apex, spread out from the branchlets at an acute angle. Cones are occasionally borne, which are like those of the type.[1] There is a specimen at Kew of a plant raised from seed of this variety, which is ordinary Thuya orientalis. It was sent from the Botanic Garden at Turin by Mr. Hanbury in 1860.
There are several forms of this variety, differing in habit and length of leaves; in one the branchlets are tetragonal.
This shrub was first observed by Thunberg in Japan, and specimens were collected near Yokohama by Maximowicz. It was also met with by Fortune in China, and has been raised in Europe.
2. Var. decussata.
- Retinospora Juniperoides, Carrière, Conif. ed. 2, p. 140.
A low shrub, with erect stems and branches, bearing foliage like that of the seedling. The leaves are in 4 rows in decussate pairs, spreading, and resembling those of a juniper, except that the points are not prickly. They are greyish green in summer, changing to brown in winter.
3. Var. Meldensis.
- Biota Meldensis, Lawson, in Gordon, Pinetum, 37.
A small tree with ascending flexible branches. It is a transition form, bearing acute acicular spreading leaves like that of the seedling, and occasionally leaves of the adult character. The leaves are bluish green, changing to brown in the winter. This plant was raised from seeds of Thuya orientalis gathered in the cemetery of Trilbardoux near Meaux in France; and for a long time was supposed to be a cross between Thuya orientalis and Juniperus virginiana.
4. Var. intermedia.
- Biota orientalis intermedia, Carrière, Man. des Pl. iv. 322.
This is also a transition form. It is a shrub with elongated pendent branchlets, the ramifications of which arise from all sides of the axis, not remaining in one plane. There are two kinds of leaves, those towards the ends of the branchlets resembling the adult foliage of Thuya orientalis, while those on older parts are spreading, arranged in decussate pairs, oval-lanceolate, decurrent at the base, and acute at the apex. In Var. funiculata, if it is in reality distinguishable, there appears to be a larger proportion of adult foliage.
Many other varieties have been described: some of peculiar habit, as gracilis and pyramidalis, which are fastigiate; others with coloured or variegated foliage, as aurea, argenteo-variegata, aureo-variegata. Var. ericoides of this species closely
- ↑ At Barton, a shrub of this variety produced cones, which had very long hooked processes on the scales (Bunbury, Arboretum Notes, 153).
