Handbook of the Trees of New England Part 5

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, swampy lands, rocky borders of rivers and ponds.

Southern Labrador to Nova Scotia; west to Manitoba.

Maine,--throughout the state; most abundant in the central and northern portions, forming extensive areas known as "cedar swamps"; sometimes bordering a growth of black spruce at a lower level; New Hampshire,--mostly confined to the upper part of Coos county, disappearing at the White river narrows near Hanover; seen only in isolated localities south of the White mountains; Vermont,--common in swamps at levels below 1000 feet; Ma.s.sachusetts,--Berkshire county; occasional in the northern sections of the Connecticut river valley; Rhode Island,--not reported; Connecticut,--East Hartford (J. N. Bishop).

South along the mountains to North Carolina and East Tennessee; west to Minnesota.

=Habit.=--Ordinarily 25-50 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-2 feet, in northern Maine occasionally 60-70 feet in height, with a diameter of 3-5 feet; trunk stout, more or less b.u.t.tressed in old trees, tapering rapidly, often divided, inclined or twisted, ramifying for the most part near the ground, forming a dense head, rather small for the size of the trunk; branches irregularly disposed and nearly horizontal, the lower often much declined; branchlets many, the flat spray disposed in fan-shaped planes at different angles; foliage bright, often interspersed here and there with yellow, faded leaves.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk in old trees a dead ash-gray, striate with broad and flat ridges, often conspicuously spirally twisted, shreddy at the edge; young stems and large branches reddish-brown, more or less striate and shreddy; branchlets ultimately smooth, shining, reddish-brown, marked by raised scars; season's twigs invested with leaves.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves in opposite pairs, 4-ranked, closely adherent to the branchlet and completely covering it, keeled in the side pairs and flat in the others, scale-like, ovate (in seedlings needle-shaped), obtuse or pointed at the apex, glandular upon the back, exhaling when bruised a strong aromatic odor.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Flowers terminal, dark reddish-brown; sterile and fertile, usually on the same plant, rarely on separate plants; anthers opposite; filaments short; ovuliferous scales opposite, with slight projections near the base, usually 2-ovuled.

=Fruit.=--Cones, terminal on short branchlets, spreading or recurved, about 1/2 inch long, reddish-brown, loose-scaled, opening to the base at maturity; persistent through the first winter; scales 6-12, dry, oblong, not shield-shaped, not pointed; margin entire or nearly so; seeds winged all round.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England; adapts itself to all soils and exposures, but prefers moist locations; grows slowly. Young trees have a narrowly conical outline, which spreads out at the base with age; retains its lower branches in open places, and is especially useful for hedges or narrow evergreen screens; little affected by insects; often disfigured, however, by dead branches and discolored leaves; is transplanted readily, and can be obtained in any quant.i.ty from nurserymen and collectors. The horticultural forms in cultivation range from thick, low, spreading tufts, through very dwarf, round, oval or conical forms, to tall, narrow, pyramidal varieties. Some have all the foliage tinged bright yellow, cream, or white; others have variegated foliage; another form has drooping branches. The bright summer foliage turns to a brownish color in winter. It is propagated from the seed and its horticultural forms from cuttings and layers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XI.--Thuja occidentalis.]

1. Flowering branch with the preceding year's fruit.

2. Branch.

3. Sterile flower.

4. Stamen.

5. Fertile flower.

6. Scale with ovules.

=Cupressus thyoides, L.=

_Chamaecyparis sphaeroidea, s.p.a.ch. Chamaecyparis thyoides, B. S. P._

WHITE CEDAR. CEDAR.

=Habitat and Range.=--In deep swamps and marshes, which it often fills to the exclusion of other trees, mostly near the seacoast.

Cape Breton island and near Halifax, Nova Scotia, perhaps introduced in both.

Maine,--reported from the southern part of York county; New Hampshire,--limited to Rockingham county near the coast; Vermont,--no station known; Ma.s.sachusetts,--occasional in central and eastern sections, very common in the southeast; Rhode Island,--common; Connecticut,--occasional in peat swamps.

Southward, coast region to Florida and west to Mississippi.

=Habit.=--20-50 feet high and 1-2 feet in diameter at the ground, reaching in the southern states an alt.i.tude of 90 and a diameter of 4 feet; trunk straight, tapering slowly, throwing out nearly horizontal, slender branches, forming a narrow, conical head often of great elegance and lightness; foliage light brownish-green; strong-scented; spray flat in planes disposed at different angles; wood permanently aromatic.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk thick, reddish, fibrous, shreddy, separating into thin scales, becoming more or less furrowed in old trees; branches reddish-brown; fine scaled; branches after fall of leaves, in the third or fourth year, smooth, purplish-brown; season's shoots at first greenish.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves mostly opposite, 4-ranked, adherent to the branchlet and completely covering it; keeled in the side pairs and slightly convex in the others, dull green, pointed at apex or triangular awl-shaped, mostly with a minute roundish gland upon the back.

=Inflorescence.=--April. Flowers terminal, sterile and fertile, usually on the same plant, rarely on separate plants, fertile on short branchlets: sterile, globular or oblong, anthers opposite, filaments shield-shaped: fertile, oblong or globular; ovuliferous scales opposite, slightly spreading at top, dark reddish-brown.

=Fruit.=--Cones, variously placed, 1/2 inch in diameter, roundish, purplish-brown, opening towards the center, never to the base; scales shield-shaped, woody; seeds several under each scale, winged.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England, growing best in the southern sections. Young trees are graceful and attractive, but soon become thin and lose their lower branches; valued chiefly in landscape planting for covering low and boggy places where other trees do not succeed as well. Seldom for sale in nurseries, but easily procured from collectors. Several unimportant horticultural forms are grown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XII.--Cupressus thyoides.]

1. Branch with flowers.

2. Sterile flower.

3. Stamen, back view.

4. Stamen, front view.

5. Fertile flower.

6. Ovuliferous scale with ovules.

7. Fruiting-branch.

8. Fruit.

9. Branch.

=Juniperus Virginiana, L.=

RED CEDAR. CEDAR. SAVIN.

=Habitat and Range.=--Dry, rocky hills but not at great alt.i.tudes, borders of lakes and streams, sterile plains, peaty swamps.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Ontario.

Maine,--rare, though it extends northward to the middle Kennebec valley, reduced almost to a shrub; New Hampshire,--most frequent in the southeast part of the state; sparingly in the Connecticut valley as far north as Haverhill (Grafton county); found also in Hart's location in the White mountain region; Vermont,--not abundant; occurs here and there on hills at levels less than 1000 feet; frequent in the Champlain and lower Connecticut valleys; Ma.s.sachusetts,--west and center occasional, eastward common; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Florida; west to Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territory.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 25-40 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 8-20 inches, attaining much greater dimensions southward; extremely variable in outline; the lower branches usually nearly horizontal, the upper ascending; head when young very regular, narrow-based, close and conical; in old trees frequently rather open, wide-spreading, ragged, roundish or flattened. In very exposed situations, especially along the seacoast, the trunk sometimes rises a foot or two and then develops horizontally, forming a curiously contorted lateral head. Under such conditions it occasionally becomes a dwarf tree 2-3 feet high, with wide-spreading branches and a very dense dome; spray close, foliage a sombre green, sometimes tinged with a rusty brownish-red; wood pale red, aromatic.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk light reddish-brown, fibrous, shredding off, now and then, in long strips, exposing the smooth brown inner bark; season's shoots green.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves dull green or brownish-red, of two kinds:

1. Scale-like, mostly opposite, each pair overlapping the pair above, 4-ranked, ovate, acute, sometimes bristle-tipped, more or less convex, obscurely glandular.

2. Scattered, not overlapping, narrowly lanceolate or needle-shaped, sharp-pointed, spreading. The second form is more common in young trees, sometimes comprising all the foliage, but is often found on trees of all ages, sometimes aggregated in dense ma.s.ses.

=Inflorescence.=--Early May. Flowers terminating short branches, sterile and fertile, more commonly on separate trees, often on the same tree; anthers in opposite pairs; ovuliferous scales in opposite pairs, slightly spreading, acute or obtuse; ovules 1-4.

=Fruit.=--Berry-like from the coalescence of the fleshy cone-scales, the extremities of which are often visible, roundish, the size of a small pea, dark blue beneath a whitish bloom, 1-4-seeded.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers sunny slopes and a loamy soil, but grows well in poor, thin soils and upon wind-swept sites; young plants increase in height 1-2 feet yearly and have a very formal, symmetrical outline; old trees often become irregular and picturesque, and grow very slowly; a long-lived tree; usually obtainable in nurseries and from collectors, but must frequently be transplanted to be moved with safety. If a ball of earth can be retained about the roots of wild plants, they can often be moved successfully. There are horticultural forms distinguished by a slender weeping or distorted habit, and by variegated bluish or yellowish foliage, occasionally found in American nurseries. The type is usually propagated from the seed, the horticultural forms from cuttings or by grafting.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XIII.--Juniperus Virginiana.]

1. Branch with sterile and fertile flowers.