Also known as 'Sennin' or 'Sennin sugi' which are very likely the original Japanese names for this cultivar.
Cryptomeria japonica 'Dacrydioides' is a broadly spreading shrub form of Japanese cedar, with bizarre, snake-like branching and gray-green awl-like, compressed foliage that develops s a bronze cast in winter. Plants resemble some species of Dacrydium, hence the species name. A similar cultivar is C. japonica 'Araucarioides' but differing in the branches that radiate in all directions and lack of side branching originating from the branch tips.
After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 6 feet (2 m) tall and wide, an annual growth rate of 6 to 8 inches (15 - 20 cm).
This cultivar originated long ago in Japan. Noted french botanist Élie-Abel Carrière first published the name in 1867 and possibly had a role in importing the first plants from Japan.
