China Fir
ORD. Coniferae. An evergreen tree, not hardy except in very favoured spots. It is too large to be allowed space in the greenhouse, and, when grown in the open, it is almost invariably disfigured by the violence of winds and frost. With these impediments of primary importance, the tree will never become largely grown; it has, however, been frequently seen doing well. Cunninghamia requires a well-drained light soil, and is best propagated from seeds, as cuttings rarely make good plants.
C. sinensis (Chinese).* fl., males in grouped catkins, which are terminal, fascicled, cylindrical, and about 1in. long; females with three ovules. cones about the size of a walnut, sessile, drooping, globose, smooth; scales ovate-acuminate, coriaceous, sharply denticulated on the margin. l. sessile, deflexed, spreading in every direction, 1 1/2. long, lanceolate, much pointed, rigid, flat, entire, somewhat scabrous on the margin. Branches for the most part verticillate, spreading horizontally. Trunk straight, cylindrical. h. 40ft. to 50ft. (much less in Europe). China, 1804. (B. M. 2743, under name of C. lanceolata.)