Cupressus lusitanica
Miller, Gardeners Dictionary, London, 1768.|
3. CUPRESSUS (Lusitanica) foliis imbricates, apicibus aculeatis, ramis
dependentibus. Cypress with imbricated leaves terminating in spines, and branches hanging downward.
Cupressus Lusitanica, patula, fructu minore. Inst. R. H. 587. Portugal spreading Cypress with a smaller fruit.
[..] The third sort is at present pretty rare in the English gardens, though of late years there have been many plants raised here; but this sort is not quite so hardy, I fear, as the common Cypress, for the plants are frequently killed, or greatly injured in severe winters; and in the hard frost in 1740, there was a large tree of this kind entirely killed in the gardens of his Grace the Duke of Richmond, at Goodwood in Sussex, which had been growing there several years; and in the year 1762, many large trees were killed. There are great plenty of these trees growing at a place called Busaco, near Cœmbra in Portugal, where this tree is called the Cedar of Busaco; and there it grows to be a timber tree, so that from thence the seeds may be easily procured. This tree grows naturally at Goa, from whence it was first brought to Portugal, where it has succeeded, and been propagated; formerly there were some trees of this sort growing in the Bishop of London's garden at Fulham, where it passed under the title of Cedar of Goa, by which it was sent from thence to the Leyden garden with that name. [..] The third sort sends forth its branches almost horizontally, so that they extend to a great distance every way, and the trees are generally furnished with branches from the ground upward; but as these grow without much order, the trees have a very different appearance from all the other sorts. This grows to be a large timber tree in Portugal, but the largest tree which I have seen in England, had not been above fifteen feet high, and the side branches of this were extended more than eight feet on every side from the stem. This sort may be propagated from seeds in the same manner as the common Cypress, and the plants should be treated in the same manner as hath been directed for them, with this difference only, that it will be proper to cover these plants during the two first winters after they are come up, especially if the frost should be severe, which might destroy them, of they are exposed to it while they are young. This sort may also be propagated by cuttings, which, if planted in autumn, and screened in winter, they will take root; but it is generally two years before they will be rooted enough to transplant, nor will the plants so raised thrive so fast as the seedlings; therefore, when the seeds can be obtained, that is the best method to propagate this tree. |