Sawara (Chamaecyparis pisifera)

Japanese: サワラ(椹) - サワラ（英語表記）Chamaecyparis pisifera

It is an evergreen tree of the Cupressaceae family, and often grows to a height of 30-40m. It grows naturally in forests, but is also planted as a hedge or garden tree. The leaves are very similar to those of Hinoki, but the tips of the leaves are pointed and arranged in a pinnate pattern when viewed from the back. It is monoecious, and the male flowers are slightly long and purple-brown globular at the ends of the branches, while the female flowers are green and globular at the base. When ripe, they become yellowish-green cones, but they are slightly smaller than Hinoki. Also, while Hinoki has side branches that extend almost horizontally, Sawara has branches that extend diagonally upwards, so the overall tree shape is slightly different. It is one of the so-called "Five Trees of Kiso" along with Hinoki, Asunaro, Thuja, and Koyamaki, but it is far inferior to Hinoki as a building material. There are many horticultural varieties of Sawara, and the famous ones are Hiyokuhiba, Shinobuhiba, and Himuro.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ヒノキ科の常緑樹でしばしば 30～40mの大高木になる。山林中に自生するが，植林したり，また生垣や庭木として栽植されている。葉はヒノキにはなはだ似ているが，葉の先端はとがり，裏から見ると羽状に配列している。雌雄同株で雄花は枝の先端につき，紫褐色のやや長い球形，雌花は基部に生じ緑色で球形をしている。熟すると黄緑色の球果となるが，ヒノキに比べてやや小型である。またヒノキでは側枝がほぼ水平に張出すのに対して，サワラは枝が斜め上に伸びるので全体の樹形がやや異なる。ヒノキ，アスナロ，クロベ，コウヤマキとともにいわゆる「木曾の五木」とされるが，建築材としてはヒノキに比べてはるかに劣る。サワラの園芸品種は多く，ヒヨクヒバ，シノブヒバ，ヒムロなどが有名である。

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