Tsuga sieboldii (southern Japanese hemlock)

Japanese name: ツガ （栂）
Scientific name: Tsuga sieboldii

[Overview]
An evergreen coniferous tree found on mountain ridges and rocky places, reaching 25–30 m in height and 1 m in trunk diameter.
The bark is grayish red-brown, deeply fissured vertically, and peels off in irregular tortoiseshell-shaped scales.
Young branches are hairless and glossy yellowish brown.
The leaves are simple and spirally alternate, linear, 10–20 mm long and 1.5–2.5 mm wide, glossy on the upper surface, with two white stomatal bands on the underside.
Leaf cushions are well developed.
On lateral branches the leaves spread out to the left and right.
There are male and female flowers; the male flower is borne singly in a leaf axil of the previous year's branch and is spherical, about 4 mm across.
The female flowers are borne at the tips of the current year's branches and are ovoid and purplish brown.
The female cones ripen to brown in autumn of the same year, becoming broadly ovoid cones about 2.5 cm long and 1–1.5 cm wide, which hang downward.
The bracts of the cone are shorter than the seed scales, so they do not protrude from between the seed scales.
The seeds have wings.
It resembles Kome-tsuga, but Tsuga occurs up to an elevation of about 1,600 m, whereas Kome-tsuga usually occurs from the upper montane zone to the subalpine zone at 1,300–2,500 m.
Also, Kome-tsuga has short hairs on its young branches, and its cones, about 1.5–2 cm long, are smaller than those of Tsuga.

[Uses]
Tannin obtained from the bark was used as a dye for fishing nets and the like.
The wood is used for construction, ships and musical instruments, and also for pulp.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, but cuttings and layering are also possible.
The germination rate is about 25–50%.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated soil.
Transplanting mature trees is difficult.
It does better kept slightly on the dry side; for potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries, and for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Apply slow-release fertilizer about once every 2 months from spring to autumn.
Pests and diseases include scale insects and shoot borers.

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