4. Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

Stinking Cedar (Torreya taxifolia)

Photo: Romi Ige.

Stinking cedar is found in the wild only along the Apalachicola River in Florida and Georgia, where specimens once grew 70 feet tall and were used to fuel riverboats. In the 1950s, stinking cedars started to die off—it is believed due to a fungal disease—and by the mid-'60s, no mature trees remained. In 1984, Torreya taxifolia was listed as endangered, and today botanic gardens like BBG are cultivating new trees from cuttings to perpetuate the species.

Notable Neighbors:

• 4A. American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• 4B. Eastern white pine grove (Pinus strobus)
• 4C. China fir
  (Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca')
• 4D. Stinking cedar (Torreya taxifolia)
• 4E. Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)