Torreya californica

Plant Characteristics
Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	80 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 80.
Width:	⇔	25 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 25.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
USDA Zones:		7 to 10

Scientific Names
Taxaceae >	Torreya >	californica >

Torreya californica is species of conifer endemic to California, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is commonly known as California Torreya or California Nutmeg (although not closely related to true nutmeg).

Young torreya shoots in PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland

It is an evergreen tree growing to 15-25 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 0.5-1 m (exceptionally 2 m); the crown is conical in overall shape, with whorled branches. The leaves are needle-like, stiff, sharp pointed, 3-5 cm long and 3 mm broad; they are arranged spirally but twisted at the base to lie flat either side of the shoots. The male (pollen) cones are 5-7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (seed) cones are single or grouped 2-5 together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe-like structure with the single large nut-like seed 2.5-4 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, dark green to purple at full maturity in the fall.

Read about Torreya californica in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Torreya californica, Torr. (T. Myristica, Hook. f. Tumion californicum, Greene). California Nutmeg. Tree, attaining 70 or occasionally 100 ft., with spreading, slightly pendulous branches, forming a pyramidal or, in old age, round-topped head: bark grayish brown, tinged with orange: lvs. linear, slightly falcate, acuminate, lustrous and dark green above, 1 – 3 1/2 in. long: fr. oblong-oval or oval, light green, streaked with purple, 1-1 1/2 in. long. Calif. ^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Gallery

Branch; PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland
Branch; PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland
Branch; PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland
Tree; PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland

References

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

w:Torreya californica. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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