|
| Name |
Specimen
- Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis Pendula - Nootka Falsecypress |
| Cultivation |
Sun
or partial shade. Prefers well-drained, moist soil. |
| Family |
Cupressaceae |
| Genus |
Chamaecyparis
Specific Epithet: nootkatensis
Species: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis |
| Synonyms |
Common
Names: Weeping yellow cedar, Weeping yellow cypress, Weeping Alaska cedar
, False Cypress, Weeping Nootka False Cypress, Weeping Alaska Cedar |
| Known
Hazards |
Contact
with foliage may irritate skin. |
| Range |
Raised
in Holland after 1884, it has been in commerce in North American since about
1907. There may be at least two clones in cultivation. Native range is along
the coast of Alaska and British Columbia, then in the Cascades of Washington
and Oregon, just reaching northern California. Recently a new conifer was
discovered in northen Vietnam, it was described scientifically in 2002 (Farjon
et al.). The tree was classified in a new genus in the family Cupressaceae
as Xanthocyparis vietnamensis (Golden Vietnamese Cypress), its closest relative
appears to be the Alaska Cedar. Apparently a good deal of evidence justifies
placing both species in the same genus, and hence Alaska Cedar has been
renamed as Xanthocyparis nootkatensis. |
| Height |
Height:
80 ft Spread: 30 ft Form: pyramidal
Type: narrow-leaved evergreen tree
Annual Growth Rate: 12 to 18 inches
Maturity: 20 to 50 years |
| Habitat |
The
species is rarely seen in landscapes. Like most other Falsecypress, it likes
high humidity. |
| Characteristics |
Pyramidal tree, 30-45 ft high (9-14 m), or more, 10-15 ft (3-4.5 m) wide.
Drooping branchlets hang from spreading, upcurving branches, foliage is
gray-green. Best in a moist climate. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Alaska
Cedar) is also often confused with Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port Orford
Cedar, Lawsons Falsecypress). Leaves tightly appressed, dark bluish or
grayish green, in 4 rows of similar size (3-6 mm long), an unpleasant,
mildewy odor when bruised. Cones globose (round or spherical shape), 10
mm across, ripening in the second year. Leaves similar to Western Red
Cedar (Thuja plicata), but the 4-rows of scale-leaves are of similar size,
whereas in Red Cedar the 2 opposite pairs have a dissimilar appearance
(not folded and folded). When branchlets of Alaska Cedar are stroked away
from the tip, they feel prickly, those of Red Cedar do not. Leaves of
Western Red Cedar have a pleasing odor when crushed, not the mildewy or
raw potato of Alaska Cedar (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). |
| Edible
Uses |
None
Known |
| Medicinal
Uses |
None
Known |
| Other
Uses |
None
Known |
| Propagation |
Grafting,
Semi-hardwood cuttings |
| Cultivars |
Cultivar:
'Pendula'
Cultivars:
'Aurea' - Shape and habit similar to the species but the foliage is golden.
'Compacta' - A dense, rounded shrub.
'Glauca' - Blue-green foliage otherwise similar to the species.
'Jubilee' - A narrow, fast-growing tree.
'Nana' - A name generally given to any dwarf.
'Pendula' - An exquisite specimen with dark, blue-green foliage; plumelike
branchlets droop gracefully from a symmetrical silhouette.
'Sullivan' - A weeping cultivar with a height of 20 feet and a spread
of 13 feet. This narrow tree is reported to be shade tolerant.
'Strict Weeping' - An extremely narrow tree with pendulous branches.
'Variegata' - Yellowish-white variegation on the foliage. |
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