Sciadopitys verticillata
22nd July 2012
The Conifers are for the most part a truly tedious group of trees that burn well. Half of them have needles
that stab at hands and trunks that ooze resin that never comes off. The other half have scales and fall over
in strong winds.
As a group they attract the attention of some truly tedious people and it is not currently acceptable to set
light to them. With increasing global overpopulation that may change.
Fortunately both groups have a scattering of eccentrics that exhibit a mutual attraction and the eccentrics have
a certain charm.
The Japanese Umbrella Pine is known from the fossil record to be at least 230 million years old and is found only in Japan.
I bought a small seedling because these oddities fascinate me. I grew it on in a pot for a year or two and have just
planted it out. The rabbits paid a visit and damaged some of the lower branches but I doubt it was particularly tasty
and they left the main trunk alone.
6th February 2018