I don't know what to call it. I'm not sure Joe did either (jimmyq changed his post!). Looks like a funky little araucaria to me, with a tendency toward partly pectinate (comblike) arrangement of foliage. This is most pronounced in the upper part of the crown visible in the second photo, where it looks like a Norfolk Island pine or a Cook pine. Leaning habit also resembles Cook pine. The bark may also be like that of Cook pine. I'd have to see it in person to have a better idea.
Obviously. The multinodal pine behind it and the palm(?) to the right might indicate a mild climate. Presumably we will soon find out.
Why am I not surprised? Probably a Canary Island pine or similar species behind. Still voting for funky little araucaria.
Don't be too suprised. I had a Monkey Puzzzle tree for many years, until i did a wetland creation project here that raised the moisture content in the soil and drowned it.
Ron B. I only changed the post because I thought Jo Keller had beat you to the punch at this one! No offence intended gentlemen!
I stopped and looked at a Norfolk Island pine growing in a tub inside local municipal library today. Even though it is enduring an indoor environment, it has the same - triangular, upturned bright green branch tips - partly serpentine older foliage - fibrous, reddish younger bark - scaly, dull (although not yet blackish) older bark as the tree in your photo. Cryptomerias do not make branches that look like ostrich plumes. Monkey puzzle is an Andean mountain species native to a temperate climate. Norfolk Island pine is a tropical species, hardy only in the mildest parts of North America.
Just wanted to thank everyone, Ron, Mike, Joe, and Jimmy. I'll pass along the info to my friend. Thanks
This is confusing: Are Cryptomeria japonica Lycopodioides/ Araucarioides/ Dacridiroides all one & the same thing ?? When Joe first said the tree in the picture was a C.j. Lycopodioides, I was completely lost. Then when I found it might be a synonym for C.j. Araucarioides, I thought 'sure, it looks like one of those...' Anyway, there seems to be an awful lot of different C.j. varieties, with very little info on any of them (except for the very popular ones, like C.j. Sekkan). How many of them are hardy to Z5 ? ....some of the preceding posts seemed to imply that Lycopodioides/ Araucarioides isn't.
Hi, The Cryptomeria varieties you are a little confused over are all very similar. It is often just the overall shape that is different. Cryptomeria should be hardy with you. I too have had great difficulty in finding information on some of the more unusual varieties of Crytomeria. It seems to be varieties that are rarely found outside Japan and/or Holland for some reason. If I find an exceptional source of info on them I will let you know. Luke
Thanks Luke, Looking forward to it. Also, I neglected to mention that 'Enko-sugi' appears to be yet another synonym for C.j. Araucarioides. Does that make it a candidate for the plant with the greatest number of synonyms ?
C. japonica 'Araucarioides' "More than one clone has been so named. Most specimens are shrubby, a few are small broad trees. Main branches rope- or snakelike with few laterals. Branchlets long (often 1'-1 1/2'), slender, and wide apart, pendulous. Needles short, thick, curved, and spreading. " C. japonica 'Dacrydioides' "Similar to the rarer 'Araucarioides' but brownish and invariably small." Jacobson, A.L. North American Landscape Trees (1996).
