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Torreya

Family

Taxaceae

A genus of four or five species of evergreen trees, named in honour of Dr John Torrey, a famous American botanist. It is allied to Taxus. The branchlets are opposite and the linear, firm, sharp-pointed leaves are terminated by a fine hard point and are arranged in opposite spreading ranks. Flowers unisexual, the sexes either on the same or separate trees (solitary examples have borne fertile seed in this country). The male flowers are solitary in the leaf-axils and are composed of six to eight whorls of stamens. Fruit egg-shaped, consisting of a large bony seed enclosed entirely in a tough, fleshy coating.

Although not closely related, and placed in different families, there is a similarity in foliage between Torreya and Cephalotaxus. A difference can, however, be found in the undersides of the leaves: in Torreya the stomata are confined to two narrow longitudinal shallow grooves, while in Cephalotaxus the stomata are arranged in numerous lines, which occupy the greater part of the undersurface of the leaf.

Two species are American, and of these T. californica is the most widely planted and successful species in Britain; the other, T. taxifolia Arn. of Florida, is very rare in cultivation and unlikely to thrive in our climate. It is also very rare in the wild.

The torreyas are usually raised from imported seed, which quickly deteriorates; or by grafting on the common yew. Cuttings can be struck, but plants raised this way are said to grow poorly.

Species articles