Tree ID: 48
Height: 55
Diameter: 31
Latin Name:
Chameacyparis obtusa
Common Name:
Hinoki Cypress
Type of Tree:
Type of Wood:
Description:
Hinoki cypress is a large, woody, needled evergreen tree from Formosa, Japan with a broad, softly pyramidal shape and spreading, horizontal branches. The cones are small and orange-brown. It is in the Cupressaceae (cypress) family and has been widely used in Japanese architecture.
Cultivars of hinoki cypress are abundant in American landscapes, but the species is rarely used, which is unjustified, given the graceful beauty of this tree. It prefers moist, fertile loams but adapts well to other soils if they are well-drained. It grows best in full sun but also tolerates partial shade quite well. Hinoki Cypress is very cold hardy, growing as far north as zone 4.
There are quite a few specimens at Seven Gables which leads one to suspect that this was one of JW Bosler’s favorite trees. There is an especially grand specimen near the lower center of the meadow area.