Thuja L.

Arborvitae (en), Thuya (fr)

Genus

Gymnosperms > Cupressales > Cupressaceae

Characteristics

Trees evergreen, small to large. Branchlets flattened, in fan-shaped, flattened, frondlike sprays. Leaves opposite in 4 ranks. Adult leaves heteromorphic; those on larger branchlets with sharp, erect, free apices to ca. 2 mm; those on flattened lateral branchlets crowded, appressed, scalelike, lateral pairs keeled, facial pairs flat; abaxial glands present or absent. Pollen cones with 2--6 pairs of sporophylls, each sporophyll with 2--4 pollen sacs. Seed cones maturing and opening first year, ellipsoid, (6--)9--14(--18) mm; scales persistent, 4--6 pairs, overlapping, oblong and basifixed, thin and woody, 2--3 central pairs fertile, uniformly thin or with slightly enlarged apex, remaining scales sterile. Seeds 1--3 per scale, lenticular, equally 2-winged; cotyledons 2. x = 11.
More
Trees or shrubs evergreen, monoecious; branchlets arranged in a plane, flattened. Leaves 4-ranked, scalelike, base decurrent only on leading branchlets, dimorphic along branchlets: facial pairs obovate-rhombic; lateral pairs boat-shaped, ridged abaxially, less than 4 mm, overlapping facial pairs, without conspicuous, white stomatal bands abaxially. Pollen cones with (4 or)6-10(-16) microsporophylls, each with (2 or)3 or 4 pollen sacs. Seed cones terminal, solitary, dehiscent when mature in 1st year; cone scales 8 or 10, decussate, flat, only middle, larger 2 or 3 pairs fertile, each fertile scale bearing 1 or 2 seeds; free bract apex a very short mucro. Seeds flat, with 2 lateral, narrow wings. Cotyledons 2.
Female cones oblong-ovoid, leathery or woody, with 4–6 pairs of overlapping scales, the upper and lower scales sterile, the middle ones each with 2–3 ovules; seeds winged; microsporophylls few; monoecious trees with shreddy bark and small, appressed, imbricate, scale-like, decussately opposite lvs, the lateral ones folded, the upper and lower flat and with a prominent resin-gland, branchlets numerous from the axils of the lateral lvs, forming soft, flat sprays. 6, N. Temp.
Life form annual
Growth form tree
Growth support -
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-9

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 14 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°) 12
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment stratification
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Thuja unspecified picture
Thuja unspecified picture

Distribution

Thuja world distribution map, present in China and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30076319-2
WFO ID wfo-4000038299
COL ID 648D5
BDTFX ID 87312
INPN ID 198441
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Thuja

Lower taxons

Thuja sutchuenensis Thuja koraiensis Thuja standishii Thuja occidentalis Thuja plicata