Japanese cedar
Cryptomeria japonica
Family · Cupressaceae · Harmless
The tree that defines the Azorean landscape today and does not come from there: dark aligned plantations of Japanese cedar covering whole ranges where laurisilva once stood.
Uplands · Oak woods · Pine woods
Also known assugi, Japanese redwood
How to tell it
A tall straight conifer with a conical crown and reddish brown bark peeling in long strips. Short curved needle leaves set in a spiral and clasping the twig, giving a foxtail look. Small round spiny cones the size of a walnut. It smells of sweet resin.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
It is the basis of the Azorean forestry sector and the timber is used in building and furniture. The problem is not the tree itself, it is the area: the plantations occupy the ground where native forest stood, and almost nothing grows beneath them. Worth knowing in order to tell forest from plantation on a trail.