Platycladus orientalis

(L.) Franco

Oriental cedar

CupressaceaeLeavesSeeds/NutsSpice/Beverage

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(c) Joel Chamberlain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joel Chamberlain

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Leaves - tea

Resistant to drought, it is very often used as an ornamental tree, both in its homeland, where it is associated with long life and vitality, and very widely elsewhere in temperate climates. It is suitable for form cuts and year-round opaque hedges, but also forms impressive slender solitary trees. Several cultivars have been selected, of which 'Aurea Nana' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The wood is used in Buddhist temples both for (lavairos) construction work, and chipped, for incense burning. Its twigs and leaves contain 0.12% essential oil containing pinene and probably caryophyllene. Its use as a memorial tree dates back to the Zhou dynasty in China, where it was the official memorial tree of princes.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It is frost hardy. It grows in swampy areas on limestone rocks. It cannot stand stagnant water around its roots. It can also grow on dry shallow soils. It can tolerate salt spray. In Hobart Botanical gardens. National Arboretum Canberra. It suits plant hardiness zone 7.

Africa, Albania, Asia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China*, Czech Republic, East Africa, Hungary, India, Indochina, Iran, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Marquesas, Mauritius, Middle East, Mongolia, Mozambique, North America, Reunion, Romania, Russia, SE Asia, Spain, Tajikistan, Tasmania, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Gabon, Grenada, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nepal, Oman, Panama, French Polynesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A small tree. It grows 9-15 m high and spreads 3-4.5 m wide. It has an irregular rounded crown. The bark is fibrous. The leaves are pale green and do not have a scent. Leaves turn bronze in the winter. They grow in vertical flattened sprays. Scale like leaves are 1-2 mm long with resin glands and sword shaped leaves are 4-5 mm long. The twigs are flattened and leaf covered. The cones are egg shaped and covered with a bloom. They are 7-12 mm long and upright. There are 4-5 pairs of thick fleshy scales. They ripen to brown. The seeds do not have wings.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed or stem cuttings.

Production

It is slow growing.

Other Information

It is sold in local markets in China. It is cultivated.

Notes

There is only one species of Platycladus. This one has been included in Thuja in the past.

Names & Synonyms

Biota, Book-leaf Pine, Chinese Arbor-Vitae, Ko-no-tegashiwa, Mayuroankh, Morepankhi, Oriental Arborvitae, Pian bai, Trac-ba

Biota orientalis (L.) Endl.Thuja orientalis L.and others

References (20)

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