Sawara Falsecypress, Sawara Cypress                      kam-e-SIP-a-ris pi-SIF-er -a

• Conifer, evergreen tree, to 160 ft (50 m) in its native habitat, much less in cultivation, narrow conical crown, horizontally spreading branches which tend to be in a single plane, nodding.  Bark red-brown, smooth, exfoliating in thin strips.  Leaves scale-like, opposite, appressed, glossy green above, usually with distinct white markings below, facial needles sharp, boat-shaped.  Cones clustered, small, globose, about 6 mm wide, dark brown, 8-12 scales.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4    Native to Japan.  Introduced into cultivation in the west about 1859.  The species type is rather uncommon as a landscape plant, but there are many cultivars, some of which have scale leaves (e.g., 'Filifera'), others needle leaves ('Squarrosa', 'Boulevard'), and still others have leaves that are intermediate ('Plumosa').
• pisifera: from the Latin pisum, pea, and ferre, to bear, a reference to its small, pea-sized cones.   Sawara: its Japanese name.
• Portland, Oregon: Hoyt Arboretum