Sawara Cypress (False Cypress)

Basic Information
Tree ID: 
152
Family: 
Cupressaceae
Genus and species: 
Chamaecyparis pisifera
Description: 
This tree is a Sawara Cypress, also known as a False Cypress, located in the Marsh Botanical Gardens. It is a gymnosperm with small, globose cones and green, scaly leaves (indicating that is an adult tree), which are typically between 1/8 and 1/4 inches long. The tree shape is irregular, and its bark exhibited the characteristic peeling quality, being light brown and revealing red strips underneath. There also appeared to be some plant matter growing on the street-facing side of the trunk. Native to Japan, the Sawara Cypress can grow to be between 8 and 37 m in height. Alongside the Hiba Cypress (Thujopsis dolabrata), Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), Koyamaki (Sciadopitys verticillata, also called the Japanese Umbrella Pine), and Nezuko Cypress (Thuja standishii), the Sawara Cypress is one of the five prized trees of the Kiso Region.
Surveyors: 
Elizabeth Watson, Nirjhar Kabery, Huey-Ting Li
Location
Area: 
Marsh and Farnam Gardens
Collected Data
Tree shape: 
Irregular
Date of tree entry: 
02/06/2024
Height: 
14.40 m
Diameter at breast height: 
1.48 m

Bark
The bark of the observed tree was smooth pale brown. Thin strips of bark appeared to have peeled off of the tree in a linear fashion, revealing a more reddish color underneath. This peeling behavior, an example of "exfoliating bark," is widely observed across Sawara Cypress trees. The wood of this tree is also known for its excellent grain quality, which makes it highly prized for woodworking.
Twigs & branches
The branches of the Sawara Cypress tree are long and slender, with the thinner ones appearing somewhat scaly. The branches seem to droop slightly, extending wide and low to surround the main trunk of the tree in both pendulous and horizontal orientations. As such, the tree can grow to be extremely wide in large, open spaces.
Foilage
The foliage consists of thin, scaly green leaves. There are white glaucous markings on the back of the leaves, and they seem to be arranged in an opposite/subopposite pattern. They seem to remain primarily green throughout the year.
Reproductive Structures
The tree contains small, brown cones scattered throughout the foliage. Sawara cypress is a monoecious tree. It produces both female and male cones. In the male cones, microsporocytes undergo meiosis and create haploid microspores. These microspores then undergo mitosis and give rise to gametophytes or pollen grains. When pollen from male cone fertilize female cones, a diploid sporophyte is produced which gives rise to embryo enclosed in a seed.
Seasons
  • Sawara Cypress - Feb 20 - Winter
  • Sawara Cypress - March 5 - Spring (Rainy)
  • Sawara Cypress - March 26 - Spring
  • Sawara Cypress - April 16 - Spring
Research
Natural range of distribution: 
Habitat: 
The Sawara cypress can live in hardiness zones 4 through 8. It can be found throughout most of the US, as shown by the distribution map above. Its natural habitat in Southern Japan consists of wetter sites, such as sites near mountain streams or in hollows with ground water near the surface. In addition, it prefers to be exposed to full sun, although it can survive in partial sun or shade. Finally, it prefers well-drained, loamy, and slightly acidic soils.
Origin, history, and uses: 

The Sawara Cypress is native to Southern Japan, specifically the islands Honshu and Kyushu. Over time, it was introduced to a variety of different regions, including the United States in USDA Hardiness Zone 4 - which includes New York and New England - (1849), England (1861), the Netherlands (1861), and Poland (1864). It is often planted for ornamental purposes, with the dwarf variant being commonly found in rock gardens. In Japan, it is regarded as one of “Kiso Goboku” (the Five Sacred Trees of Kiso): a group of five trees from the Kiso valley region that hold great cultural significance. The timber of these trees is prized for its durability and grain quality and has been used in the construction of Shinto shrines, as well as palaces and temples.

Phenology: 
In spring, a large amount of pollen from male cone blows up into upper branches where they fertilize female cones. They mature their seed in one summer, in about 7-8 months after pollination. The foliage doesn't have any autumn color but they do tend to brown in the winter. Even though Sawara cypress is an evergreen tree and it doesn't shed leaves in fall, a study done by Rahman et al. (2020) has shown that temperature variation influences growth process of cambium tissues in conifers specially in Sawara Cypress. The study observed that the timing of cambial reactivation (when the cambium becomes active after a period of dormancy) is closely tied to temperature patterns. When daily temperatures start rising earlier in late winter to early spring, cambial reactivation occurs earlier as well. The timing of cambial reactivation affects the quality and quantity of wood, as well as the ability of the tree to adapt to its environment.
References: 

1. Blake Weiner, J. 2018. Torii gate at the Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo. World History Encyclopedia.

2. “Chamaecyparis pisifera.” Missouri Botanical Garden. 

3. “Chamaecyparis pisifera.” North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

4. “Chamaecyparis Pisifera.” Plant Database, plantdatabase.uconn.edu/detail.php?pid=108.

5.  ”Chamaecyparis pisifera.” Royal Botanical Gardens Kew: Plants of the World Online.

6. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. 2017. “False cypress.” Encyclopedia Britannica.

7. Eitoku, Kano. 16th c. Cypress Trees, folding screen. 

8. Frankis, M.P. 1999. “Chamaecyparis pisifera.” The Gymnosperm Database.

9. Gilman, E.F., Watson D.G., Klein R.W., Hilbert D.R. “CHAMAECYPARIS PISIFERA ‘FILIFERA’: SAWARA FALSECYPRESS.” ENH317, Department of Environmental Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension

10. Guide to Akasawa Natural Recreation Forest, Agematsu Town Sightseeing Guide: Home of the Kiso Cypress in Nagano, Japan. Agematsu Town Tourism Association.

11. “The Kiso Forest.” Nakasendo Way, Walk Japan Ltd.

12. Lark, M. E. 2019. “Chamaecyparis pisifera (Sawara false Cypress) ID #1150.” BIO 140 Arboretum Project, Salve Regina University. 10.
 
13. Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations, Terebess G. (Editor).
 

14. Rahman, M.H., Kudo, K., Yamagishi, Y. et al., 2020. Winter-spring temperature pattern is closely related to the onset of cambial reactivation in stems of the evergreen conifer Chamaecyparis pisifera. Sci Rep 10, 14341

15. Wyatt, Bill. Translation and comment of Matsuo Bashō’s Haibun from Spring 1688.

More
Other information of interest: 
  • False cypresses can be distinguished from true cypresses by their smaller cones.
  • The etymology of the genus name, Chamaecyparis, comes from the Greek ‘chamai’ meaning ‘ground’ and kuparissos, which means ‘cypress.’
Media and Arts
Kiso - A Culture Built with Wood

Poems:

Translation of a haiku by Matsuo Bashō, 1688 (translated by Jane Reichhold):

“a day of flowers darkens / with the sadness of the false cypress / tomorrow I will become”

Translation of a haibun by Matsuo Bashō, 1688 (translated by Bill Wyatt):

” ‘Tomorrow I’ll become a cypress.’ That’s what the old tree once said in the valley. Yesterday has gone by and tomorrow hasn’t arrived. So, whilst alive, I enjoy my wine and keep repeating to myself ‘tomorrow, tomorrow,’ until I’m rebuked by the sages.”

AttachmentSize
Image icon Cypress Trees - Kano Eitoku, Azuchi-Momoyama period5.35 MB
Image icon Torii gate at the Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo, made of cypress wood.2.75 MB