Betula grossa Betula grossa Betula grossa, commonly known as Japanese cherry birch, is a species of birch native to Japan, where it grows naturally in mixed woodland on hill and mountain slopes in Honshu, Shikoku , and Kyushu. It was introduced to the West in 1896, but remains rare in cultivation. "Betula grossa" is conical in outline, but its most distinctive feature is its cherry-like bark, with horizontal stripes of reddish-grey becoming dark grey with age, exfoliating in thin papery curls. The dark green leaves are up to 10 cm long and turn golden-yellow in autumn. The shoots are aromatic, and carry
Cryptomeria Cryptomeria Cryptomeria (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica (syn. "Cupressus japonica" L.f.). It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as sugi (). The tree is called Japanese sugi pine or Japanese red-cedar in English. It is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to tall and trunk diameter, with red-brown bark which peels in vertical strips. The leaves are arranged spirally, needle-like, long; and the seed cones globular, diameter with about 20–40 scales. It is superficially similar