Trees from the East

There’s a new tree on the block. This attractive little sapling is the Sugi tree, originating from Japan. (Cryptomeria japonica)  It thrives in a similarly wet but rather warmer climate than we have currently in the Lake District. However, with the global temperature set for creeping up a few degrees, by the time it is an adult it may have become the timber tree of choice in the British Isles. So, our foresters have been planting small areas with them to see how they do over the next few decades.
In the wild they can grow for 2000 to 7000 years, huge and stately – they are Japan’s National tree and often grow at the centre of Shinto shrines – but they spread from there into China many centuries ago. Interestingly when I visited the Wulingyuan National Park the mountainsides were covered in them. Perhaps Whinlatter Forest will look similar in 200 years time.