Torreya californica
California nutmeg · also California torreya, Californian nutmeg, Stinking cedar
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Torreya californica is a slow-growing, long-lived evergreen conifer endemic to California, typically found as a forest understory tree in protected, shady canyons near watercourses. It has a straight, tapering trunk with furrowed grayish-brown bark and dark green, glossy leaves. Female trees produce yellowish-green, olive-sized fleshy cones with maroon stripes.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 40.00%—20 in
- 40.00%——
- 20.00%——
- 10.00%—7.5 in
- 10.00%—59 in
- 10.00%——
- 10.00%—12 in
No city in this list records planting dates for this species, so age is blank throughout.
Traits
- Form
- Conifer
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Mature height
- 30–60 ft
- Canopy spread
- 15–30 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Sun
- Part shade, Full shade
- Water needs
- High
- Drought tolerance
- Low
Trunk diameters across every city: median 16 in, mean 22 in, 90th percentile 41 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Conifer Forests
- Northern California coastal forests
- Sierra Nevada forests
Other Torreya in the catalogue
2 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
