sciadopitys

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of coniferous trees, of the tribe Abietineæ and subtribe Taxodinæ, distinguished by a lamina which bears seven to nine ovules and becomes greatly enlarged and hardened, composing nearly the whole scale of the cone when mature. The only species, S. (sometimes Taxus) verticillata, is a native of Japan, known in cultivation as umbrella-pine and parasol-fir. It is a tall evergreen tree, bearing as its true leaves minute scales, and as apparent leaves, rigid linear phyllodia, resembling pine-needles, which are produced yearly in small radiating and long persistent tufts. The hard, thick cones, about 3 inches long, consist of numerous closely imbricated rounded woody scales which finally gape apart as in the pine, discharging the fiattened and broadly winged seeds. It is a tree of slow growth, with compact white wood, and reaches a height of 80 or sometimes 140 feet.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. type and sole genus of Sciadopityaceae; Japanese umbrella pines