Studies of Trees | Page 6

red juniper.
Comparisons: The red cedar is apt to be confused with the low juniper (Juniperus
communis) which grows in open fields all over the world. The latter, however, is
generally of a low form with a flat top. Its leaves are pointed and prickly, never scale-like,
and they are whitish above and green below. Its bark shreds and its fruit is a small round
berry of agreeable aromatic odor.
ARBOR-VITAE; NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR (Thuja occidentalis)
Distinguishing characters: The *branchlets* are extremely *flat and fan-like*, Fig. 13,
and have an agreeable aromatic odor when bruised. The tree is an evergreen with a
narrow conical form.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Twig of the Arbor-vitae.]

Leaf: Leaves of two kinds, one scale-like and flat, the other keeled, all tightly pressed to
the twig (see Fig. 13).
Form and size: A close, conical head with dense foliage near the base. Usually a small
tree, but in some parts of the northeastern States it grows to medium size with a diameter
of two feet.
Range: Northern part of North America.
Soil and location: Inhabits low, swampy lands; in the State of Maine often forming thick
forests.
Enemies: Very seldom affected by insects.
Value for planting: Is hardy in New England, where it is especially used for hedges. It is
also frequently used as a specimen tree on the lawn.
Commercial value: The wood is durable for posts, ties, and shingles. The bark contains
considerable tannin and the juices from the tree have a medicinal value.
Other characters: The fruit is a cone about ½ inch long.
Other common names: Arbor-vitae is sometimes called white cedar and cedar.
Comparisons: The arbor-vitae is apt to be confused with the true white cedar
(Chamaecyparis thyoides) but the leaves of the latter are sharp-pointed and not flattened
or fan-shaped.
CHAPTER II
HOW TO IDENTIFY TREES--(Continued)

GROUP IV. THE LARCH AND CYPRESS
How to tell them from other trees: In summer the larch and cypress may easily be told
from other trees by their leaves. These are needle-shaped and arranged in clusters with
numerous leaves to each cluster in the case of the larch, and feathery and flat in the case
of the cypress. In winter, when their leaves have dropped off, the trees can be told by
their cones, which adhere to the branches.
There are nine recognized species of larch and two of bald cypress. The larch is
characteristically a northern tree, growing in the northern and mountainous regions of the
northern hemisphere from the Arctic circle to Pennsylvania in the New World, and in
Central Europe, Asia, and Japan in the Old World. It forms large forests in the Alps of
Switzerland and France.
The European larch and not the American is the principal species considered here,

because it is being planted extensively in this country and in most respects is preferable
to the American species.
The bald cypress is a southern tree of ancient origin, the well-known cypress of
Montezuma in the gardens of Chepultepec having been a species of Taxodium. The tree
is now confined to the swamps and river banks of the South Atlantic and Gulf States,
where it often forms extensive forests to the exclusion of all other trees. In those regions
along the river swamps, the trees are often submerged for several months of the year.
How to tell them from each other: In summer the larch may be told from the cypress by
its leaves (compare Figs. 14 and 16). In winter the two can be distinguished by their
characteristic forms. The larch is a broader tree as compared with the cypress and its form
is more conical. The cypress is more slender and it is taller. The two have been grouped
together in this study because they are both coniferous trees and, unlike the other
Conifers, are both deciduous, their leaves falling in October.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Twig of the Larch in Summer.]
THE EUROPEAN LARCH (Larix europaea)
Distinguishing characters: Its leaves, which are needle-shaped and about an inch long, are
borne in *clusters* close to the twig, Fig. 14. There are many leaves to each cluster. This
characteristic together with the *spire-like* form of the crown will distinguish the tree at
a glance.
Leaf: The leaves are of a light-green color but become darker in the spring and in October
turn yellow and drop off. The cypress, which is described below, is another cone-bearing
tree which sheds its leaves in winter.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Twig of the Larch in Winter.]
Form and size: A medium-sized tree with a conical head and a straight and tapering trunk.
(See Fig. 90.)
Range: Central Europe and eastern and central United States.
Soil and location: Requires a deep, fresh, well-drained soil and needs plenty of light. It
flourishes in places where our native species would die. Grows