Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D.Don, Taxodiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate; score: 5 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Cryptomeria japonica)

Other Latin names:  Cryptomeria araucarioides Henkel & W.Hochst.; Cryptomeria compacta Beissn.; Cryptomeria elegans Jacob-Makoy; Cryptomeria fortunei Hooibr. ex Billain; Cryptomeria generalis E.H.L. Krause; Cryptomeria kawaii Hayata; Cryptomeria lobbiana Billain; Cryptomeria lobbii (Carrière) Lavallée; Cryptomeria mairei (H. Lév.) Nakai; Cryptomeria mucronata Beissn.; Cryptomeria nana Lindl. & Gordon; Cryptomeria nigricans Carrière; Cryptomeria pungens Beissn.; Cryptomeria variegata Beissn.; Cryptomeria viridis Beissn.; Cupressus japonica Thunb. ex L.f.; Cupressus mairei H. Lév.; Schubertia japonica (Thunb. ex L.f.) Jacques; Schubertia japonicum (Thunb. ex L.f.) Brongn.; Taxodium japonicum (Thunb. ex L.f.) Brongn.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Japanese-cedar, tsugi pine

Japanese: sugi, tsugi

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Evergreen trees 120-200' tall; trunk strongly tapered, base buttressed, bark reddish, peeling in strips. Lvs needlelike, spreading, ca 0.5" long (longer on young plants), apex incurved. Pollen cones ovoid, clusterd at bran ends. Seed cones globose, 0.6-1.2" ⌀, ripening in one year; brachts numerous, swollen, crowded, apexes armed with prolonged acute tips, fertils scale formed by several partially fused elements with separate acute tips. Seeds 2-5, erect, ca 0.3" x 0.15", 2- or 3-angled. . . . The leafy shoots persist for up to five years, turning reddish in autumn. Many cultivars are known, including juvenile forms with longer, more spreading needles. The Chinese material is generally recognized as a distinct natural variety with a looser habit and smaller seed cones than the better-known Japanese tree." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 75)

Habitat/ecology:  "Natural forests that include [Cryptomeria japonica] are now very rare (Tomaru et al. 1994) and those forests in which it still occurs have been greatly altered; the description is largely based on forests in Yakushima where an old growth forest still exists. The forest vegetation is mixed evergreen forest, with ca. 50% Cryptomeria, growing mixed or in groves; angiosperm evergreen trees are Trochodendron aralioides, Distylium racemosum, Camellia japonica, C. sasquana, Daphniphyllum spp., Michelia compressa, Myrica rubra, Quercus spp., Ilex spp., and Lauraceae; conifers are Abies firma, Tsuga sieboldii, Chamaecyparis obtusa, and Torreya nucifera; a few deciduous angiosperm trees, e.g. Stewartia monadelpha and Acer spp., make up less than 1% of tree cover. There is a diverse shrub-layer and some common climbers, e.g. Hydrangea petiolaris and Rhus orientalis; a rich cryptogamic flora covers the forest floor as well as trees, with abundant ferns, e.g. Hymenophyllum, mosses, and liverworts. The mountains on this island are of granite; the soils are well drained yellow loam or clay, often quite deep. The climate is mild temperate, with abundant rainfall." (IUCN Red List)

Propagation:  seed or cuttings (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 75)

Native range:  "On the IUCN Red List, Cryptomeria is regarded as a monotypic genus endemic to Japan; occurrences in other countries are the result of either recent or ancient introductions. . . . ¶This species is found in Japan: Honshu, Shikoku and Yakushima. Within Japan, the natural distribution is discontinuous and scattered in limited areas as a result of the extensive exploitation of this species during the past 1,000 years. Yakushima is one of the few areas where natural forest still occurs and here there are many trees that are over 1,000 years old." (IUCN Red List)

". . .widely distribnuted across Japan and China, but because it is so commonly cultivated it is difficult to be certain of its true natural range." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 75)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  (no invaded habitats or impacts known by PIER; please let us know if you know of such information we should add here)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76) "Cryptomeria japonica was introduced to Hawai'i in the 1800s; J. F. Rock reported that it was extensively planted in the uplands of Haleakal&?#257; and similar places by 1917.1248. Today there are extenxive forestry plantations in moist middle elevations on all the larger islands, with almost 500,000 seedlings set out between 1920 and 1960.1338." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 76)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	New Caledonia (island)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Japan Japan	Japan		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Europe Europe	France		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Brazil		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

Comments:  present in Hawaii per Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems in Hawaii, p. 284

used/recommended as a timber species (Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands, p. 162) and as a windbreak (Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands, p. 228) on Pacific islands

"Cryptomeria japonica was introduced to Hawai'i in the 1800s; J. F. Rock reported that it was extensively planted in the uplands of Haleakal&?#257; and similar places by 1917¹²⁴⁸." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 76)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cryptomeria japonica, please let us know.