Cupressus
The Genus Cupressus is one of several genera in the cypress family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress - the others being the superficially similar Chamaecyparis, Fokienia and Microbiota, and the rather less similar Taxodium and Glyptostrobus.
The genus Cupressus is native to scattered localities in mainly warm temperate regions in the northern hemisphere, including western North America, Central America, north-west Africa, the Middle East, the Himalaya, southern China and north Vietnam. They are evergreen trees or large shrubs, growing to 5-40 m tall. The leaves are scale-like, 2-6 mm long, and persis for 3-5 years. The cones are 8-40 mm long, globose or ovoid with 4-14 scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs, and mature in 18-24 months from pollination. The seeds are small, 4-7 mm long, with two narrow wings, one along each side of the seed. Many of the species are adapted to forest fires, holding their seeds for many years in closed cones until the parent trees are killed by a fire; the seeds are then released to colonise the bare, burnt ground. In other species, the cones open at maturity to release the seeds.
Many species are grown as decorative trees in parks and, in Asia, around temples; in some areas, the native distribution is hard to discern due to extensive cultivation. A few species are grown for their timber, which can be very durable. The fast-growing hybrid Leyland Cypress, much used in gardens, draws one of its parents from this genus (the Monterey Cypress C. macrocarpa); the other parent, the Nootka Cypress is now also classified in this genus, or the new genus Xanthocyparis, but in the past more usually in Chamaecyparis.
Species
The number of species recognised within this genus varies sharply, from 16 to 25 or more according to the authority followed. This is because most populations are small and isolated, and it is difficult to be sure whether they should be accorded specific or subspecific rank. Current tendencies are to reduce the number of recognised species; when a narrow species concept is adopted, the species indented in the list below may also be accepted.
New World species
The New World cypresses tend to have cones with relatively few scales (4-8 scales, rarely more in C. macrocarpa), each scale with an often prominent narrow spike.
- Cupressus arizonica - Arizona Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus glabra (C. arizonica var. glabra) - Smooth Arizona Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus montana (C. arizonica var. montana) - San Pedro Martir Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus nevadensis (C. arizonica var. nevadensis) - Piute Cypress - Status: Lower Risk
- Cupressus stephensonii (C. arizonica var. stephensonii) - Cuyamaca Cypress - Status: Critical
- Cupressus bakeri - Modoc Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus goveniana - Gowen Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus pygmaea (C. goveniana var. pygmaea) - Mendocino Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus abramsiana (C. goveniana var. abramsiana) - Santa Cruz Cypress - Status: Endangered
- Cupressus guadalupensis - Guadalupe Cypress - Status: Critical
- Cupressus forbesii (C. guadalupensis var. forbesii) - Tecate Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus lusitanica - Mexican Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus benthamii (C. lusitanica var. benthamii) - Bentham's Cypress - Status: Lower Risk
- Cupressus macnabiana Macnab Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus macrocarpa Monterey Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus nootkatensis (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis) Nootka Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus sargentii Sargent Cypress - Status: Secure
Old World species
The Old World cypresses tend to have cones with relatively more scales (8-14 scales, rarely 6 in C. funebris), each scale with a short broad ridge, not a spike.
- Cupressus cashmeriana Bhutan Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus chengiana Cheng's Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus duclouxiana Yunnan Cypress - Status: Data Deficient
- Cupressus dupreziana - Saharan Cypress - Status: Critical
- Cupressus atlantica (C. dupreziana var. atlantica) - Moroccan Cypress - Status: Endangered
- Cupressus funebris Weeping Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus gigantea Tibetan Cypress - Status: Vulnerable
- Cupressus sempervirens Mediterranean Cypress - Status: Secure
- Cupressus torulosa Himalayan Cypress - Status: Lower Risk
