Cypress family, Cupressaceae
Origin: Japan and the south-west of China
Habitat in the original area: forests in the zone from 600 to 1,200 metres above sea level
Habitus: It is an evergreen tree up to 50 metres tall with a conical crown with branches hanging to the ground, but with raised tips. The bark is red-brown, vertically furrowed and peels off in stripes.
Leaf: The needles are dark green, sickle-shaped and they grow in spirals on the twigs. During the winter, they turn red-brown.
Bloom, fruit: This monoecious tree has yellow and oval male cones; its female cones are green and rosette-shaped. The cones are spherical and woody.
Interesting facts: Cryptomeria is monotypic, it is represented only by this single species. In its homeland it can grow to the height up to 70 metres. It is long-lived, living for 350 years, exceptionally even more than 900 years. It is one of the oldest wood species on Earth.
