arborvitae

arborvitae
/ahr'beuhr vuy"tee/, n.
1. any of several ornamental or timber-producing evergreen trees belonging to the genus Thuja, of the cypress family, native to North America and eastern Asia, having a scaly bark and scalelike leaves on branchlets.
2. Anat. See arbor vitae.
[1655-65 for def. 1; 1790-1800 for def. 2; < L: tree of life]

* * *

(Latin: "tree of life") Any of six species (genus Thuja) of resinous, evergreen ornamental and timber conifers of the cypress family, native to North America and eastern Asia.

Arborvitae trees or shrubs have thin, scaling outer bark and fibrous inner bark; horizontal or ascending branches; and flattened, spraylike branchlets with scalelike leaves. The Oriental, or Chinese, arborvitae (T. orientalis), a popular ornamental native to Asia, is a gracefully symmetrical shrub. Arborvitae wood is soft and lightweight but very durable, fragrant, and easily worked. The giant arborvitae (T. plicata) is the most important timber-producing species, but the wood of the American arborvitae (T. occidentalis) is also frequently used. False arborvitae (Thujopsis dolabrata) is closely related.

* * *

plant
      (Latin: “tree of life”), any of five species of the genus Thuja, resinous, evergreen ornamental and timber conifers of the cypress family (Cupressaceae), native to North America and eastern Asia. A closely related genus is false arborvitae.

      Arborvitae are trees or shrubs, usually pyramidal in habit, with thin, scaling outer bark and fibrous inner bark, horizontal or ascending branches, and characteristically flattened, spraylike branchlet systems. Each branchlet has four rows of tiny, scalelike leaves. Juvenile leaves are much longer and needlelike and in some species may persist along with the mature foliage.

      Male and female reproductive structures (cones) are borne at the tips of different branchlets of the same tree, the male cones rounded and reddish or yellowish, the female very small and green or tinged with purple. Mature cones are solitary, egg shaped or oblong, 8 to 16 millimetres (about 1/2 inch) long, with 4 to 6 (but sometimes 3 or as many as 10) pairs of thin, flexible scales that terminate in thickened ridges or processes.

      The oriental, or Chinese, arborvitae (T. orientalis), a popular ornamental native to Asia, is a gracefully symmetrical shrub about 10 metres (33 feet) tall. Some authorities have assigned it to a separate genus (Biota) because of distinctions such as its erect branches, vertically arranged, fanlike branchlet systems, and six to eight hook-tipped cone scales.

      Yellowish or reddish-brown arborvitae wood is soft, light in weight but very durable, fragrant, and easily worked. The giant arborvitae (T. plicata) is the most important timber-producing species, but the wood of the American arborvitae (T. occidentalis) is also frequently used.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • arborvitae — [är΄bər vīt′ē] n. [L, lit., tree of life] 1. Bot. any of several trees or shrubs (genus Thuja) of the cypress family, with flattened sprays of scalelike leaves 2. Anat. the treelike structure of the white substance in a longitudinal section of… …   English World dictionary

  • arborvitae — noun any of several Asian and North American conifers of the genera Thuja and Thujopsis • Hypernyms: ↑conifer, ↑coniferous tree • Hyponyms: ↑western red cedar, ↑red cedar, ↑canoe cedar, ↑Thuja plicata, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • arborvitae — vakarinė tuja statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Kiparisinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, medieninis, vaistinis augalas (Thuja occidentalis), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. Iš jo gaunamas eterinis aliejus. atitikmenys: lot. Thuja occidentalis; Thuja… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • arborvitae — tuja statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Kiparisinių (Cupressaceae) šeimos augalų gentis (Thuja). atitikmenys: lot. Thuja angl. arborvitae; thuja vok. Lebensbaum rus. жизненное дерево; туя lenk. żywotnik; tuja …   Dekoratyvinių augalų vardynas

  • arborvitae leaf miner — noun : the larva of a small moth (Argyresthia thuiella) that mines in the leaves of the arborvitae …   Useful english dictionary

  • arborvitae — noun Etymology: New Latin arbor vitae, literally, tree of life Date: 1646 any of various evergreen trees and shrubs (especially genus Thuja) of the cypress family that usually have closely overlapping or compressed scale leaves and are often… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • arborvitae — noun a) Any of several North American or Asian conifers, of the genera Thuja and Thujopsis, grown for timber or ornament. b) The white nerve tissue of the cerebellum that has a branching structure …   Wiktionary

  • arborvitae — n. type of tree in the cypress family …   English contemporary dictionary

  • arborvitae — ar·bor·vi·tae …   English syllables

  • arborvitae — ar•bor•vi•tae [[t]ˌɑr bərˈvaɪ ti[/t]] n. 1) pln any of several evergreen trees of the genus Thuja, of the cypress family, having a scaly bark and scalelike leaves on branchlets 2) anat. Also, ar′bor vi′tae. a treelike longitudinal pattern formed… …   From formal English to slang

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”