More of the very ornamental Thuja plants

[tilia_tomentosa]

And now here come the male cones (or at least what I think are the male cones). In case you find the term "male cones" confusing, these are the parts of the plant that produce pollen. The best photos I managed today in spite of the wind that kept moving the branches so it was difficult to get aything in focus

Comments

[pigshitpoet]

i love how meaty the needles are, this is like an engineered tree, with complex formity
well, that's how i see it,
artists anonymous
; )

[tilia_tomentosa]

Thank you! :)

[puddleshark]

How beautiful those fronds are, seen close up... Scaled like dragons!

[tilia_tomentosa]

Thank you! :) I never thought of dragons, but that's exactly what they look like.

I don't think these are "fronds"; it seems that each of the individual scales counts as a leaf and the whole thing is called "twig" or (more scientifically?) "branchlet".
https://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/thpl9.htm
https://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/thor7.htm

Now I wish I had studied more general botany at my second university than the barest minimum that was considered necessary before we switched to strictly agricultural plants.

[puddleshark]

"...each of the individual scales counts as a leaf..."

Oh, wow. I never knew that. I must go out with the macro lens and photograph Thuja immediately!

[tilia_tomentosa]

Cypress leaves are like that too. Cupressaceae seems to be a very interesting family, including the junipers with their "berries". I do wish I had learned more about them in my botany classes.