Real Oriental Arborvitae –Platycladus orientalis specimen encased in clear lucite material. The specimen is crystal clear, indestructible and transparent. Safe, authentic and completely unbreakable product put real plant right at your fingertips!

Anyone can safely explore the plant from every angle.

It is clear enough for microscope observation.

Size of the plant is 6.0x5.5 cm (2.4x2.2 inch).

Size of the lucite block is 75x75x21 mm (3.0x3.0x0.8 inch).

Each one comes with a cardboard box for easy storage.

Weight of the lucite block is 140 gram and 170 g with packing box.

This is a handmade real specimen craft. Each one will be a bit different (specimen size, color and posture) even in the same production batch.
The pictures in the listing are just for reference as we are selling multiple pieces with same pictures.

It is an ideal learning aid for students and kids and also a very good collectible item for every body.

***

Oriental Arborvitae Leafytwigs  (Cacumen Platycladus)

Oriental Arborvitae –Platycladus orientalis

Class: Pinopsida  Order: Pinales   Family: Cupressaceae   Genus: Platycladus   Species: P. orientalis

Platycladus is a distinct genus of evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Platycladus orientalis, also known as Chinese Arborvitae or Biota. It is endemic to Northwestern China. It is also now naturalised as an introduced species elsewhere in Asia: eastward to Korea and Japan; southward to northern India; and westward to northern Iran.

Although generally accepted as only member of its genus, it has been suggested that the closely related species Microbiota decussata could be included in Platycladus, but this is not widely followed. Other fairly close relatives are the genera Juniperus and Cupressus, both of these genera being graft-compatible with Platycladus. In older texts, Platycladus was often included in Thuja, but it is only distantly related to that genus. Differences from Thuja include its distinct cones, wingless seeds, and its almost scentless foliage.

It is a small, slow-growing tree, to 15-20 m tall and 0.5 m trunk diameter (exceptionally to 30 m tall and 2 m diameter in very old trees). The foliage forms in flat sprays with scale-like leaves 2-4 mm long. The cones are 15-25 mm long, green ripening brown in about 8 months from pollination, and have 6-12 thick scales arranged in opposite pairs. The seeds are 4-6 mm long, with no wing.

The common name 'arborvitae' is from Latin, 'tree of life', and is based on its association with long life and vitality in Buddhist thought in China. This is probably based on the tree's unchanging evergreen nature in the cold dry climate of northwest China, and its longevity; some of the larger specimens planted around Buddhist temples in China are said to be in excess of 1,000 years old.

It is very widely used as an ornamental tree, both in its homeland, where it is associated with long life and vitality, and very widely elsewhere in temperate climates. Several cultivars have been selected, of which 'Aurea nana' and 'Elegantissima' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The wood is used in Buddhist temples, both for construction work, and chipped, for incense burning.