Several horticultural varieties have been introduced, viz.:—
3. Var. lætevirens, Masters, Jour. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xviii. 486.
- Thujopsis lætevirens, Lindley, Gard. Chron. 1862, p. 428.
- Thujopsis dolabrata nana, Gordon, Pinetum, ed. 2, p. 399.
A dwarf shrub having no definite leader, with slender and much-ramified branchlets, and very small and bright green leaves. This variety often shows acicular leaves, spreading all round the shoot, and is apparently a fixed seedling form. It was introduced in 1861 from Japan by J. Gould Veitch.
4. Var. variegata. This only differs from the ordinary cultivated form in having the tips of many of the branchlets pale yellow or cream colour. It was introduced by Fortune in 1861.
Distribution
Thujopsis dolabrata was discovered by Kaempfer,[1] who mentions it in his Amœnitates Exoticæ, p. 884, as "a kind of Finoki." His specimen is still preserved in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, and was figured by Lambert[2] in his account of the species. Thunberg long afterwards (about 1776) sent specimens to Linnæus, who first gave a scientific description of the tree. Thunberg[3] cites the locality as follows:—"Crescit in regionibus Oygawæ et Fakoniæ, inter Miaco et Iedo." (A.H.)
Thujopsis dolabrata in Japan is known under the name of Hiba, and is found in a wild state north of about lat. 35°, and in the southern part of this area is a mountain tree only, occurring in the forest of the Kisogawa district from about 3000 to 5000 feet. In the vicinity of Nikko it is common between about 4000 and 6000 feet according to Sargent, but I only saw it here near Lake Yumoto where it did not appear to attain such large dimensions as farther north. The variety found in the forests of Atera is distinct in its fruit from the northern form. The excellent figure on Plate xi. in Shirasawa's Essences Forestières appears to be taken from the southern variety.
The northern form has been described by Makino as var. Hondai, but the latter is not mentioned either by Goto or Shirasawa, nor is it recognised as specifically distinct in any of the Japanese collections which I saw. Though the tree usually occurs in mixture with Tsuga at Nikko, and with Sciadopitys at Atera, yet in the extreme north of Japan, on the hills north of Aomori, it is found in pure forest on hills of volcanic formation from near sea-level up to about 3000 feet. An excellent account of the forest of Uchimappe is given in Forestry and Forest-Products of Japan, where it is stated that the mountains are of Tertiary formation, and the under-lying rock composed of tufa, sandstone, and slate. Pieces of this rock which I brought home have been examined by Mr. Prior of the British Museum of Natural History, who considers that in all probability they represent a rather basic andesite or basalt, but owing to the weathered and decomposed state of the specimens, satisfactory sections could not be made. I visited this forest in the
