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Tsuga sieboldii
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Tsuga sieboldii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Tsuga
- Japanese Hemlock
Synonyms
- Abies tsuga Sieb. & Zucc.
- T. araragi Koehne
A tree up to 100 ft high in Japan, with a trunk 9 ft or more in girth; but only a small bushy tree with us, although a very elegant one; young shoots perfectly glabrous. Leaves linear, of uniform width, 1⁄3 to 1 in. long, 1⁄16 to 1⁄10 in. wide, rounded and distinctly notched at the apex, not toothed, abruptly narrowed at the base to a short stalk; rich glossy green above, with two clearly defined white lines of stomata beneath. Cones 3⁄4 to 1 in. long, egg-shaped; scales rounded.
Native of Japan and of one island off the coast of Korea; introduced to Europe by Siebold about 1853. J. G. Veitch brought back cones in 1861, mixed with those of T. diversifolia, but it is uncertain whether his firm ever distributed plants from that source. It is an important constituent of the coniferous forests of Japan from central Honshu southwards, while its ally T. diversifolia has a more northern distribution and ascends to higher altitudes; see that species for the points of difference. Although slow-growing, and not making a large tree in this country, the grace and beauty of Siebold’s hemlock makes it well worth growing. For all that, it is rarely seen outside collections. Examples measured recently are: National Pinetum, Bedgebury, Kent, pl. 1926, 40 × 3 ft and 38 × 31⁄2 ft (1969); Wakehurst Place, Sussex, 45 × 3 ft (1964); Leonardslee, Sussex, 43 × 2 ft (1969); Lydhurst, Sussex, 54 × 41⁄2 ft (1971); Bodnant, Denb., 35 × 31⁄2 ft (1959).
From the Supplement (Vol. V)
specimens: Kew, 40 × 21⁄2 ft + (1981); National Pinetum, Bedgebury, Kent, pl. 1925/6, 48 × 33⁄4 ft + , 52 × 23⁄4 + 21⁄2 + 21⁄2 ft, and 50 × 31⁄4 ft (1981); St Clere, Kent, 36 × 33⁄4 ft (1983); Grayswood Hill, Haslemere, Surrey, 60 × 43⁄4 + 33⁄4 + 4 ft (1982); Wakehurst Place, Sussex, Sands Pinetum, 33 × 43⁄4 ft and, Bethlehem Garden, 62 × 51⁄4 ft + (1979); Leonardslee, Sussex, Coronation Garden, 70 × 31⁄4 ft (1985); The High Beeches, Handcross, Sussex, 44 × 41⁄4 + 34⁄4 ft (1982); Antony House, Cornwall, 60 × 71⁄4 ft (1978); Margam Abbey, W. Glam., 41 × 41⁄4 ft (1985); Hopetoun House, E. Lothian, 46 × 4 ft (1984).