Platycladus orientalis seed
LATIN NAME: Platycladus orientalis
COMMON NAME: Oriental Arborvitae
The Oriental arborvitae is a handsome, upright, conical or columnar, evergreen conifer of the warm, dry places, and its fine, flat, fan-like sprays of the tiny, scale-like, green leaves and its small, upright, round or oval, bluish-grey cones have made it a treasured and fine tree of the region. It grows as an upright, conical or columnar, evergreen conifer, reaching up to twenty metres or more, with the upright, tapering trunk bearing the fine, flat, fan-like sprays of the tiny, scale-like, green leaves and, through the warm months, the small, upright, round or oval, bluish-grey cones of the few seeds. It is a species of the coniferous tree in the cypress family, and it is native to the warm, dry places of the north-eastern China and the surrounding regions, while it is treasured for its fine, fan-like foliage and its fine, durable wood, and it is known as the Oriental arborvitae.
In the cypress family it is the fan-leaved arborvitae of the warm, dry places, a tree whose flat, evergreen sprays and durable wood have served the east for the ages.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Oriental arborvitae appears in the conifer papers of the region, and the botanists have mapped its place in the cypress family and the dry flora of the north-east. The natural-product chemists have examined the parts of the tree and their long record of traditional use, and the foresters have studied the fine, durable, fragrant wood. The plant is best appreciated as a subject of study rather than a casual remedy, and the growers of the warm-garden conifers keep it in their catalogues.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the warm, dry garden, the Oriental arborvitae is the fan-leaved conifer of the stately corner. Its bluish-grey cones feed the small creatures, and the flat, evergreen sprays give the garden a fine, formal presence through the year. The durable, fragrant wood has served the fine building and the crafts of the region, and the tree grows well in the dry, well-drained ground of the sunny, open spot. Fan-leaved, durable and stately.
Shake the few seeds out of the small, upright, bluish-grey cones and sow them shallowly over the surface of pots of gritty, free-draining soil, keep the pots moist in a bright, sheltered spot and never let them dry out, and the first fine shoots will appear in time.