Siebold Hemlock, Tsuga sieboldii
No white nor red was ever seen
So am’rous as this lovely green
-Andrew Morrell
As leitmotif to last time’s “who does your garden grow,” we turn next to Siebold Hemlock, Tsuga sieboldii. The genus Tsuga is small with just nine to eleven species, depending on taxonomic analysis, compared with the much larger genus Pinus, or pines. All hemlocks are medium-sized to large, evergreen trees, native to North America and Asia. Previously we have reviewed Canadian hemlock, by far the most prevalent species growing at Mount Auburn.
Siebold Hemlock, Tsuga sieboldii. also referred to as Southern Japanese hemlock may reach heights of 100-feet in the wild, but more often half that tall in landscape use. They have single, flattened, needle-like leaves, each about ½-inch-long, with smooth edges and a tiny notch on the tip. The undersides have two white stomatal bands. The seed cones when ripe are pale brown, one-inch-long. (more…)
Winter Interest Trees & Shrubs at Mount Auburn
Mount Auburn Cemetery attracts over 200,000 visitors per year, and they visit for many different reasons. Families and friends come to pay tribute to loved ones every day, as we continue to do about 500 new burials per year. Others come to enjoy the beautiful landscape, the magnificent trees, the birds and other wildlife, or the amazing collection of funerary art and architecture. Many attend our educational programs and tours, and still others come to study history and learn about the notable residents of Mount Auburn. Some do all of the above. (more…)
Golden larch, Pseudolarix amabilis
…From yellow leaves a blue jay calls
Grandmothers walk out in their shawls
And chipmunks run the old stone walls
When fall comes to New England…
-Cheryl Wheeler
Autumn within Mount Auburn presents an arboreal cornucopia of multiple colors. A sampling includes the reds of dogwood, maple, tupelo, Virginia sweetspire, oakleaf hydrangea, interplanted with the yellow of hickory, ginkgo, Korean mountain ash and larch among many others. One lesser known golden-yellow, which sometimes exhibit bright orange-bronze instead, is provided by the Golden larch, Pseudolarix amabilis. This native to China which grows 30-50 (100)-feet in height is one of four deciduous conifers that grow here, the others are bald cypress, dawn redwood and European larch. (more…)
Larch, Larix sp.
All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches…
-William Carlos Williams
Conifers may primarily be defined as producing their seeds attached to scales of a woody cone (pinecone, spruce cone, fir cone, hemlock cone sequoia cone, etc.) and generally are evergreen. Willaims’ imagery alludes to deciduous plants’ autumn readying for winter. The larches, Larix sp. are the largest genus of deciduous conifers. Three other genera of deciduous conifers in our living collection are Taxodium, Metasequoia and Pseudolarix.
There are perhaps 11 species (taxonomists may differ) within the genus Larix, or Larch, all occurring in the northern regions and/or higher altitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Cone characteristics along with geographic nativity help greatly in distinguishing between species. (more…)