hiba arbre
Thujopsis
Thujopsis dolabrata - Hiba, Japanese Arborvitae
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Kurt Stueber © Common name: Thujopsis, Hiba, sometimes Japanese Thuya, in Japan called 'Hiba' or 'Asunaro', in Canada it is called Adze-leaved Thuya and by English speakers 'Deerhorn Cedar', 'Elkhorn Cedar', 'Hiba Arborvitae' or 'False Arborvitae'.
Latin name: Thujopsis dolabrata (L.) Siebold* & Zucc.*, synonyms Thujopsis hondai Henry, Thuja dolobrata (L.f)*.
family: Cupressaceae.
category: monoecious tree (conifer) with reddish-brown bark which peels off in large strips over time, revealing an ochre-orange underbark.
Habit: pyramidal, compact and dense, possibly with several tops, flattened branches drooping down to the ground. In our climates in Europe its growth is very slow, it is often found in a bushy form.
foliage: evergreen, aromatic, very light green to shiny dark green on the underside of a silvery white with a midrib and green border (which makes it easy to differentiate it from that of Thujas. Arranged in a fan, short drooping ramules, small oblique leaves, broad, flattened, scaly-shaped with the apex curved towards the branch.
flowers: in spring (March-April) at the end of the young branches, solitary dark purple oblong male catkins perfectly visible to the naked eye, and small bicolor globose female catkins at the base of a yellowish green, the tip of a dark purple.
fruits: subglobular strobilus (1.5 to 1.8 cm) of a bluish gray green with 6 - 10 mucronate scales which when mature (after two years) turn reddish brown, persisting for several years in place; by desiccation open, each scale containing between 3 and 5 small winged seeds.
growth: very slow in our climates count the first years 3cm per year, in 40 years count + or - 2m.
height: in our climates 2 to 10m in its natural environment can reach 35m high.
planting: spring or autumn preferably at the water's edge to promote its development.
multiplication: by sowing in spring, taking care beforehand to keep the seeds cold for at least 3 months (to respect the dormancy period) then a lot of patience or by cuttings.
soil: acid and fresh.
location: sun, partial shade, shade sheltered from strong winds.
zone: 5 - 10. Hardy easily tolerates down to -15 to -20°C.
origin: Japan in the humid forests at altitude between 400 and 2000m in the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, also present in China.
maintenance: protect young plants from frost the first year and make sure to water them abundantly the first two years after planting.
NB: it is often confused with cedar. Introduced in Europe for the first time around 1853, in Great Britain the climate seems more appropriate and you can discover subjects 20 m high there, in France one of the oldest subjects introduced between 1859 and 1861 has about thirty trunks that you can discover at Parc du Bois Joly in Quimperlé (Finistère).
Under suitable climate, it is used like ornamental tree in the gardens and wet parks at the edge of the parts of water, elsewhere its weak development makes that it is used in the shrubbery solid masses or in rockeries.
Its name Thujopsis means shaped like an ax blade, and dolabrata comes from the Latin 'dolabratus' meaning shaped with an axe, referring to its leaves (scales) and flat antlers.
This genus includes only one species of conifer and one subspecies Thujopsis hondai Henry, synonym Thujopsis dolabrata (Thunb. ex L.f.) Siebold & Zucc. var. hondai (Henry) Makino which is found mainly on the island of Hokkaido and north of that of Honshu, differing by more globular strobiles but which are devoid of prominent mucros.
illustration: plate from "Flora Japonica, Sectio Prima (Tafelband) (1870) sive Plantae, quas in imperio Japonico collegit, descripsit, ex parte in ipsis locis pingendas curavit. Sectio Prima continens plantas ornatui vel usui invervientes". Philipp Franz von Siebold* & Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini*.
Flora Japonica 1870Cultivars include:
-Thujopsis dolabrata 'Aurea', foliage variegated with yellow.
- Thujopsis dolabrata 'Nana', about 0.60m high for a spread of 1.50m, light green and bronze foliage, sought after for its spreading habit.
Properties and uses:
Locally, its aromatic wood is used as structural wood for the construction of buildings and in shipbuilding, also sought after for use in carpentry or simply as fuel.
- Thujopsis dolabrata 'Variegata': about 3m high for a spread of 1.50m, bright green foliage speckled with cream with a silvery underside.
Other species present in the Encyclopedia:
Its bark was once used to cover roofs instead of tiles.
- Thuja occidentalis
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