This specimen of Cryptomeria japonica grows beside the Systematic Beds.
Cryptomeria japonica is a pyramidal-shaped, coniferous species from Japan and China, which grows to 55m. It has fibrous reddish-brown, peeling bark. The leaves spiral around the shoots, and it has both male and female cones. The small, male cones are oval in shape and occur in clusters at the tip of the shoots, while the females are spherical with shield-like scales. It is regarded as a hardy tree, though it seems to favour conditions in the south of the British Isles, where larger specimens grow. A member of the Taxodiaceae family, it is closely allied to the redwoods of North America.