evergreen tree that may reach heights of with an diameter trunk, although it typically grew to tall and in diameter, and most stands today are composed of immature trees of less than tall. The crown is open and conical in overall shape, with whorled branches. These branches are spreading to slightly drooping. The bark of two-year-old branches are coloured yellowish-green, yellowish-brown or grey. On mature trees the bark is only about 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) thick and is irregularly divided by shallow fissures. The stiff, needle-like leaves are sharp to the touch and are arranged in two ranks on the branches. Images on this page show their dimensions; sizes vary depending on access to sunlight and the tree's overall health. The leaves are glossy green above and light green below, with a very slightly sunken grayish stripe of stomata on either side of the midrib on the underside, and slightly round in transverse profile on the topside. The leaves have an unpleasant, strongly pungent, resinous odor when crushed. Genus Torreya is subdioecious, with separate male and female plants that may however include branches bearing cones of the opposite sex. The male (pollen) cones resemble those of a common yew, but are much larger and have imbricated scales (bracts) at their base. They are 5–7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female cones when young are more angular than the male (as seen in the photo to the right). They are grouped two to five together near the tip of a branchlet. Tiny at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe-like structure with the single large nut-like seed (photo at right) surrounded by a fleshy covering called an aril, long including aril, about the size of a nutmeg. The aril is green but becomes streaked with purple as it matures, advancing to orange or fully purple in late fall. Unlike true yews, in which the aril forms a "cup" around the seed, in this plant the aril completely encloses the seed, leaving only a minute perforation at the end. When the aril is removed, the seed bears a striking resemblance to a large acorn. Subcanopy growth adaptations Species within the Torreya genus are all adapted to establish and grow slowly as subcanopy woody plants in forest habitats of moderate to dense shade. In this way, their leaf structure and growth habit resemble