This 15+ year old tree is planted on the UNLV campus in complete shade on the northside of a large building. The soil stay mostly damp so I know it is not a native of Las Vegas. I have searched the plant files and internet and haven't seen anything like it. Thought it might be an arborvitae or juniper but can't find anything to support that.
Any ideas.............
Thanks in advance
Here is a close up of the branch/needles
I think there's a Thuja selection named 'Whipcord'; I don't grow it, but that might be it.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/62333/
Looks more like a similar selection of Sawara Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera to me.
Resin
Although both of those are extremely similar in many ways neither are correct. The scaly needle like leaves don't branch out. There looks to be anywhere between 5 to 10 needles per node (facicle).
Viburnum Valley, I have seen the Thuja 'Whipcord' and although it can be beautiful as a small shrub, once it reaches over 6 ft tall it seems to lose all its interest to my likings.
Resin, I am adding Sawara Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera to my list of need to see and possible own plants. I really like its dense foliage as a mature tree, I read that it also has a stringent odor that is a deterrent to many small airborne insects. Wonder if that smell would keep me from planting it to close to public areas.
I'd bet my last dollar it's a 'Whipcord' arborvitae. I have several, and the resemblance is identical. I just looked at mine (It's cold outside!), and the scaly needle-like leaves are sticking out exactly like the ones in your second photo. One clue you might check is the typical arborvitae odor you can detect when you crush the foliage, although the odor is similar to that of a chamaecyparis, but stronger and the chamaecyparis fragrance is more pine-like compared to the arborvitae (Neither is noticeable unless the foliage is deliberately crushed and both make excellent plants.) However, although it could be a C. pisifera (Sawara), typically the branchlets would be more flattened and arranged in horizontal planes that what the photos show.
I'd bet my last dollar it's a 'Whipcord' arborvitae.
Hoosier you are always welcome in Las Vegas and you don't need to bet your last dollar to do it...
Found my answer.. It is a Weeping Threadleaf Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Filiformis'. In my quest for the name I went to a local nursery and just happened upon the right person. She personally knowns the man who designed the UNLV Arboritum, 17 years ago, she called him and I told him where it was and he remembered the tree, where he got it from and the common name. Did a search on the internet and whalaaa......
Thank you everyone for your help. I just might pass this class yet...
