Description
Torreya – Nutmeg Yew –
There are 5-7 endangered dioecious or monoecious, evergreen coniferous shrubs or trees belonging to the Taxaceae family, in this genus. There are 4 species that naturally occur in East Asia and 2 that are native to North America. The flattened, lance shaped, spirally arranged or 2 ranked, like the Yew (Taxus) with pale undersides, but are hard and spine tipped. The common name refers to the single–seeded, oval female, cone like structures (“cones”), they may take 18-24 months to ripen, maturing to olive or plum-like fruits. The male cones are white and spherical. Nutmeg yews are vigorous, small to medium sized specimen trees.. T. californica thrives in areas with cool, damp summers, other species grow best in areas with summers that are warm and humid.
Able to adapt to a wide variety of soils, from chalk to heavy clay and poor sand but they prefer fertile, moist, but well drained soil in full sun or light, dappled shade. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Prone to root rot and needle blight.
T. nucifera – Japanese torreya – Kaya – Naya – Kaya Nut – Japanese Nutmeg Yew – This upright to broadly conical tree from Southern Japan, grows 50-80′ feet tall and 25′ feet wide. It produces opposite branchlets that carry linear, glossy, dark gray green leaves, up to 1 1/4″ long, in 2 opposite ranks, separated by a broad “V” shaped channel and are pleasantly scented if crushed. The bark is a smooth reddish brown. It bears ellipsoid female cones that are olive-green, 1″ long, and have edible kernel.
Zones 6-10
