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Sawara Cypress🌲
Chamaecyparis pisifera
サワラ
An evergreen conifer in the cypress family, endemic to Japan and native to mountains of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. Closely related to hinoki, but distinguished by slightly more pointed leaf tips and H-shaped (bowtie-like) stomatal bands on the underside instead of hinoki's X. The wood is a premium timber second only to hinoki, long used for tubs, barrels, containers, and panelling. Its water resistance makes it ideal for sake and soy-sauce barrels and ofuro tubs. Cultivars like 'shinobu-hiba' and 'ōgon-sawara' are popular garden trees.
Identification Points
- ✓Opposite scale-like leaves with slightly pointed tips
- ✓H-shaped (bowtie) stomatal bands on leaf underside
- ✓Small 5–8 mm cones ('sawara' means 'small')
Habitat
Mountains, plantations
Season
April (flowers); October (cones)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Needle
Growth form
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Habitat
Mountain
Phylogenetic Positionヒノキ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Gymnosperms > Pinopsida > Pinales > Cupressaceae
Divergence Era
Triassic (approx. 230 million years ago onward)
Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification