In November, I made a reference to Louise Bourgeois's spider sculptures. Now you can decide for yourself whether or not that big katsuratree in Dumbarton Oaks resembles one of her sculptures. I still think it does.
In any case, this isn't an art blog, so we won't spend too much time on the actual sculpture. Instead, we're noting the groundcover beneath it: Microbiota decussata, or Siberian cypress.
Siberian cypress was discovered outside Vladivostock in 1921, growing above the tree line of nearby mountains and withstanding temperatures below -40° F. Since then it's been a favored cypress family groundcover, less common than Juniperus and just a tiny bit more tolerant to light shade. It also (similar to blue rug Juniper) changes color. In the winter, as you can see it has a dusky rose tint, but when the weather warms up, it will turn green. If you read my NYPAOS post on fall color, you will know that this change in color means that the chlorophyll is no longer being produced and thus the green pigment in chlorophyll is not abundant, providing opportunities for the anthocyanins in the plant to be reflected in the color spectrum.
Though the plant can handle a touch more shade than Junipers (the only other Cupressaceae genus with popular groundcovers), it is demands of good, well-drained but moist soil. This is also about as far south as the plant can be. In zones 8 and warmer, it simply does not survive.
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