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Tsuga sieboldii Carr.

Tsuga, Japanese Hemlock

Modern name

Tsuga sieboldii Carrière

Synonyms

Abies tsuga Sieb. & Zucc.; T. araragi Koehne

A tree up to 100 ft high in Japan, with a trunk 9 ft or more in girth; but only a small bushy tree with us, although a very elegant one; young shoots perfectly glabrous. Leaves linear, of uniform width, 13 to 1 in. long, 116 to 110 in. wide, rounded and distinctly notched at the apex, not toothed, abruptly narrowed at the base to a short stalk; rich glossy green above, with two clearly defined white lines of stomata beneath. Cones 34 to 1 in. long, egg-shaped; scales rounded.

Native of Japan and of one island off the coast of Korea; introduced to Europe by Siebold about 1853. J. G. Veitch brought back cones in 1861, mixed with those of T. diversifolia, but it is uncertain whether his firm ever distributed plants from that source. It is an important constituent of the coniferous forests of Japan from central Honshu southwards, while its ally T. diversifolia has a more northern distribution and ascends to higher altitudes; see that species for the points of difference. Although slow-growing, and not making a large tree in this country, the grace and beauty of Siebold’s hemlock makes it well worth growing. For all that, it is rarely seen outside collections. Examples measured recently are: National Pinetum, Bedgebury, Kent, pl. 1926, 40 × 3 ft and 38 × 312 ft (1969); Wakehurst Place, Sussex, 45 × 3 ft (1964); Leonardslee, Sussex, 43 × 2 ft (1969); Lydhurst, Sussex, 54 × 412 ft (1971); Bodnant, Denb., 35 × 312 ft (1959).



From the Supplement (Vol. V)

specimens: Kew, 40 × 212 ft + (1981); National Pinetum, Bedgebury, Kent, pl. 1925/6, 48 × 334 ft + , 52 × 234 + 212 + 212 ft, and 50 × 314 ft (1981); St Clere, Kent, 36 × 334 ft (1983); Grayswood Hill, Haslemere, Surrey, 60 × 434 + 334 + 4 ft (1982); Wakehurst Place, Sussex, Sands Pinetum, 33 × 434 ft and, Bethlehem Garden, 62 × 514 ft + (1979); Leonardslee, Sussex, Coronation Garden, 70 × 314 ft (1985); The High Beeches, Handcross, Sussex, 44 × 414 + 344 ft (1982); Antony House, Cornwall, 60 × 714 ft (1978); Margam Abbey, W. Glam., 41 × 414 ft (1985); Hopetoun House, E. Lothian, 46 × 4 ft (1984).

Genus

Tsuga

Other species in the genus