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Microbiota decussata
Also called Microbiota
Microbiota decussata, the Siberian cypress, is a low, spreading evergreen shrub from the Russian Far East, grown as ground cover. It thrives in cold winters and drought once established, and it is the only species in its genus.
Microbiota is a monotypic genus of coniferous shrubs in the cypress family, Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Microbiota decussata, the Siberian cypress, or Russian arborvitae. It is endemic to a limited area of the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Primorskiy Krai in the Russian Far East. The genus name Microbiota is not to be confused with the term "microbiota" for the range of micro-organisms of a life system. The genus name is derived from micro-, meaning "small", + Biota, a synonym of the genus Platycladus, a closely related conifer genus with the sole species Platycladus orientalis.
Microbiota decussata is grown as an ornamental plant for use as evergreen groundcover in gardens and parks. It is valued for its drought tolerance and considerable cold temperature and winter season conditions tolerance. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Microbiota decussata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
