View source for Platycladus

{{Short description|Genus of conifers}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Chinese arborvitae
| image = Platycladus_orientalis_Simatai.jpg
| image_caption = ''Platycladus orientalis'' in its natural habitat in [[Simatai]], [[Great Wall of China]] 
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=''Platycladus orientalis'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T31305A2803944 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T31305A2803944.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.139164 |title=''Platycladus orientalis'' |access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Platycladus
| parent_authority = Spach
| species = orientalis
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[João Manuel Antonio do Amaral Franco|Franco]]<ref>{{GRIN | access-date=2008-02-19 }}</ref>
| synonyms_ref =<ref name=powo/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wcsp.science.kew.org/synonomy.do?name_id=378336|date=2022-05-06|title=WSCP, the last web-archive snapshot before migration to POWO (Archive copy)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506195423/https://wcsp.science.kew.org/synonomy.do?name_id=378336 |archive-date=2022-05-06 }}</ref>
| synonyms = *''Biota'' <small>(D.Don) Endl., illegitimate superfluous name</small>
* ''Thuja orientalis'' <small>L.</small>
*''Biota orientalis'' <small>(L.) Endl.</small>
*and dozens more in ''[[Cupressus]], [[Thuja]], Platycladus, [[Biota (plant)|Biota]], [[Chamaecyparis]], [[Juniperus]], [[Retinispora]], [[Widdringtonia]]''

}}
'''''Platycladus''''' is a [[monotypic taxon|monotypic]] [[genus]] of [[evergreen]] [[Pinophyta|coniferous]] trees in the cypress [[family (biology)|family]] [[Cupressaceae]], containing only one species, '''''Platycladus orientalis''''', also known as '''Chinese thuja''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17 }}</ref> '''Oriental arborvitae''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=PLOR80|taxon=Platycladus orientalis|access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref> '''Chinese arborvitae''', '''biota''' or '''Oriental thuja'''. It is native to northeastern parts of [[East Asia]] and [[North Asia]],<ref name=powo>{{cite POWO |id=77124-1 |title=Platycladus orientalis |access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=378336|date=2022-10-15|title=WSCP, the last web-archive snapshot before migration to POWO (Archive copy)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015170039/http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=378336 |archive-date=2022-10-15 }}</ref><ref>{{eFloras|2|200005428|Platycladus orientalis |first1=Liguo |last1=Fu |first2=Yong-fu |last2=Yu |first3=Robert P. |last3=Adams |first4=Aljos |last4=Farjon |volume=4}}</ref> but is also now [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] as an [[introduced species]] in other regions of the Asian continent.

==Description==
{{singlesource|section|date=July 2024}}
A [[monoecious]] tree, it is small, slow-growing, reaching {{cvt|15–20|m}} and {{cvt|0.5|m}} trunk diameter (exceptionally to {{cvt|30|m|disp=or}} tall and {{cvt|2|m|disp=or}} diameter in very old trees). The foliage forms in flat sprays with scale-like [[leaves]] {{cvt|2–4|mm|in|2}} long, which are [[Chartreuse (color)|bright green]] in colour but may turn brownish or [[Copper (color)|coppery]] orange in winter. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are {{cvt|1.5–2.5|cm|in|frac=8}} long, green ripening brown in about eight months from pollination, and have 6–12 thick scales arranged in opposite pairs. The [[seed]]s are {{cvt|4–6|mm|in|2}} long, with no wing.{{cn|date=June 2020}}

The branches are relatively short, loosely arranged and, usually, sharply directed upwards, and the bark, brownish, is detached in narrow vertical strips. The twigs are compressed and are arranged in vertical planes. The leaves, arranged in four rows, fleshy, opposite, [[decussate]], truncated, imbricated as adults, somewhat curved inwards, of uniform green color and with a resiniferous gland on the underside. The female cones, of pink-salmon color and later bluish-greenish when immature, centimetric and of annual maturation, are oval with 6-8 flattened, thick scales, [[coriaceous]] and provided with an apical hook.<ref> Kremer BP, Trees, Editorial Blume, Barcelona, 1986, Thuja orientalis L., p. 78</ref>

==Taxonomy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2019}}
Although generally accepted as the only member of its genus, it has been suggested that the closely related species ''[[Microbiota decussata]]'' could be included in ''Platycladus'', but this is not widely followed. Other fairly close relatives are ''[[Juniperus]]'' and ''[[Cupressus]]'', both of these genera being [[grafting|graft-compatible]] with ''Platycladus''. In older texts, ''Platycladus'' was often included in ''[[Thuja]]'', which is reflected in one of its common names, "oriental thuja". But it is only distantly related to the genus ''Thuja''. Differences include its distinct cones, wingless seeds, and its almost scentless foliage.

==Etymology==
The binomial ''Platycladus'' means 'with broad or flattened shoots' deriving from Greek {{lang|grc|πλατύς}} ''platys'' 'broad, flat, level'  and {{lang|grc|κλάδος}} ''klados'' 'branch, shoot of a tree'.<ref>{{LSJ|platu/s|πλατύς}}, {{LSJ|kla/dos|κλάδος|ref}}.</ref> The qualifier ''orientalis'' refers to its native habitat in China.<ref name=RHSLG>{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Lorraine|title=RHS Latin for gardeners|year=2012|publisher=Mitchell Beazley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-84533-731-5|pages=224}}</ref>

==Distribution==
It is native to [[northwestern China]], but it is difficult to distinguish the areas where they are native safely from those where they have been introduced. It is distributed in [[Manchuria]], [[Russian Far East]] ([[Amur Oblast|Amur]] and [[Khabarovsk]]), and now it is naturalised in [[Korea]], [[Japan]], [[India]], [[Florida]]  and [[Iran]] as well. It is also cultivated in many parts of the world in parks, gardens, home [[Yard (land)|yards]], cemeteries and for [[hedge]]s.<ref>Armin Jagel, Veit Martin Doerken: Morphology and morphogenesis of the seed cones of the Cupressaceae - part II: Cupressoideae. Bull. CCP 4 (2), 2015, pp. 51-78</ref>

==Uses==


Resistant to drought, it is very often used as an ornamental tree, both in its homeland, where it is associated with long life and vitality, and very widely elsewhere in [[temperateness|temperate]] climates. It is suitable for form cuts and year-round opaque [[hedge]]s, but also forms impressive slender solitary trees. Several [[cultivars]] have been selected, of which 'Aurea Nana'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Platycladus orientalis'' 'Aurea Nana'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/13244/Platycladus-orientalis-Aurea-Nana/Details | access-date = 6 February 2021}}</ref> has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 79 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 2 May 2018}}</ref> 

The wood is used in Buddhist temples both for (lavairos) construction work, and chipped, for [[incense]] burning. Its twigs and leaves contain 0.12% essential oil containing [[pinene]] and probably [[caryophyllene]].<ref>Armin Jagel, Thomas Stützel: Studies on the morphology and morphogenesis of the seed cones of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco (= Thuja orientalis L.) and Microbiota decussata Kom. (Cupressaceae) <!-- Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Morphogenese der Samenzapfen von Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco (= Thuja orientalis L.) und Microbiota decussata Kom. (Cupressaceae) -->. Bot. Year syst. Bd. 123, 2001, pp. 337-404.<!-- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291867859_Untersuchungen_zur_Morphologie_und_Morphogenese_der_Samenzapfen_von_Platycladus_orientalis_L_Franco_Thuja_orientalis_L_und_Microbiota_decussata_Kom_Cupressaceae --></ref> Its use as a memorial tree dates back to the [[Zhou dynasty]] in China, where it was the official memorial tree of princes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Hui-Lin |title=The Origin and Cultivation of Shade and Ornamental Trees |date=1974 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |isbn=0-8122-1070-0 |location=Pennsylvania, United States |page=20 |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{gallery
|File:PlatycladusOrientalis2.jpg|Habit of young plant
|File:Platycladus orientalis.jpg|''Platycladus orientalis'', [[Morton Arboretum]] acc. 168-53#3<ref name=CDI>Cirrus Digital: [http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_oriental_arborvitae.htm ''Platycladus orientalis''] [[Morton Arboretum]] accession 168-53#3</ref>
|File:BiotaOrientalis6.jpg|Mature trees
|File:BiotaOrientalis5.jpg|Mature tree
|File:Platycladus orientalis 20070330 3.jpg|Very young female cones
|File:Platycladus orientalis, Parque Ana Tutor, Madrid 1.jpg|Immature seed cones
|File:Platycladus1.jpg|Mature cones, with seeds visible
|File:Platycladus_orientalis_cones.jpg|Mature cones
|File:P.orientalis'Rosedalisr'.jpg|''P. orientalis'' 'Rosedalis'
|File:P.orientalis%27Rosedalisr%27closeup.jpg|''P. orientalis'' 'Rosedalis' leaf
|File:Platycladus orientalis-japan201601.jpg|''P. orientalis'' 'Semperaurea' in winter
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===General references===
* [http://www.conifers.org/cu/pl/index.htm Gymnosperm Database - ''Platycladus orientalis'']
* [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/PLorientalis.jpg Arboretum de Villardebelle - ''Platycladus'' cone photos]
* [http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/blog/platycladus_orientalis_oriental_arborvitae Conifers Around the World: ''Platycladus orientalis - Oriental Arborvitae''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929191835/http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/blog/platycladus_orientalis_oriental_arborvitae |date=2013-09-29 }}.
* {{PFAF|Thuja orientalis}}

{{Commons|Platycladus orientalis}}
{{Cupressaceae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q33482}}

[[Category:Cupressaceae]]
[[Category:Monotypic conifer genera]]