(CUPRESSUS TORULOSA.)
This cypress, apart from its elegant growth, is interesting as being
the only species of Cupressus indigenous to India. It is a native of
the Himalayas in the Bhotan district, and it also occurs on the
borders of Chinese Tartary. It forms, therefore, a connecting link, as
it were, between the true cypresses of the extreme east and those that
are natives of Europe. It is singular to note that this genus of
conifers extends throughout the entire breadth of the northern
hemisphere, Cupressus funebris representing the extreme east in China,
and C. macrocarpa the extreme west on the Californian seacoast. The
northerly and southerly limits, it is interesting to mark, are, on the
contrary, singularly restricted, the most southerly being found in
Mexico; the most northerly (C. nutkaensis) in Nootka Sound, and the
subject of these remarks (C. torulosa) in Bhotan. The whole of the
regions intervening between these extreme lateral points have their
cypresses. The European species are C. lusitanica (the cedar of Goa),
which inhabits Spain and Portugal; C. sempervirens (the Roman
cypress), which is centered chiefly in the southeasterly parts of
Europe, extending into Asia Minor. Farther eastward C. torulosa is met
with, and the chain is extended eastward by C. funebris, also known as
C. pendula. The headquarters of the cypresses are undoubtedly in the
extreme west, for here may be found some four or five distinct
species, including the well-known C. Lawsoniana, probably the most
popular of all coniferæ in gardens, C. Goveniana, C. Macnabiana, C.
macrocarpa, and C. nutkaensis (spelt C. nutkanus by the Californian
botanists). The eastern representative of the cypresses in the United
States of North America is C. thyoides, popularly known as the white
cedar. In Mexico three or four species occur, so that the genus in
round numbers only contains about a dozen species. The Californian
botanist Mr. Sereno Watson takes away Lawson's cypress from Cupressus
and puts it in the genus Chamæcyparis, the chief points of distinction
being the flattened two-ranked branchlets and the small globose cones
maturing the first year.
[Illustration: CONES OF CUPRESSUS TORULOSA (NATURAL SIZE).]
All the cypresses are undoubtedly valuable from a garden point of
view, but the various species vary in degree as regards their utility
as ornamental subjects. I should rank them in the following order in
point of merit: C. Lawsoniana, C. nutkaensis, C. macrocarpa, C.
sempervirens, C. thyoides, C. Macnabiana, and C. Goveniana; then would
follow C. torulosa, C. funebris, C. Knightiana, and other Mexican
species. These are placed last, not because they are less elegant than
the others, but on account of their tenderness, all being liable to
succumb to our damp and cold winters. The species which concerns us at
present, C. torulosa, is an old introduction, seeds of it having been
sent to this country by Wallich so long back as 1824, and previous to
this date it was found by Royle on the Himalayas, growing at
elevations of some 11,500 feet above sea level. Coming from such a
height, one would suppose it to be hardier than it really is, but its
tenderness may probably be accounted for by the wood not getting
thoroughly ripened during our summers. It is a very handsome tree,
said to reach from 20 feet to 125 feet in height in its native
habitat. It has a perfectly straight stem; the growth is pyramidal or
rather conical, and the old wood is of a warm purplish-brown. The
foliage is a glaucous gray-green, and the branches have a twisted and
tufted appearance.
There are several varieties of it which are, or have been, in
cultivation. Of these one of the best is corneyana, which Gordon
ranked as a distinct species. It was supposed to be Chinese, and was
introduced to cultivation by Messrs. Knight & Perry, the predecessors
of Messrs. Veitch at the Chelsea Nurseries. It differs from C.
torulosa proper, its habit being of low stature, and has slender
pendulous branches; hence, it has been known in gardens by the names
of C. gracilis, C. cernua, and C. pendula. Other varieties of C.
torulosa are those named in gardens and nurseries--viridis, a kind
devoid of the glaucous foliage of the original; majestica, a robust
variety; and nana, a very dwarf and compact-growing sort. There is
also a so-called variegated form, but it is not worthy of mention. The
synonyms of C. torulosa itself are C. cashmeriana, C. nepalensis, and
C. pendula. Having regard to the tenderness of this Bhotan cypress, it
should only be planted in the warmest localities, and in dry sheltered
positions; upland districts, too, provided they are sheltered, are
undoubtedly suitable for it, inasmuch as growth is retarded in spring,
and, therefore, the young shoots escape injury from late spring
frosts.--_W.G., in The Garden._
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