''Cupressus bakeri'', reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis bakeri'',CalFlora Database: ''Hesperocyparis bakeri''
. accessed 8.28.2015. with the common names Baker cypress, Modoc cypress, or Siskiyou cypress, is a rare species of

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

tree endemic to a small area across far northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon, in the western United States.

Description

The evergreen tree has a conic crown, growing to heights of , exceptionally to 39 m (130 ft), and a trunk diameter of up to 50 centimeters (20 inches), exceptionally to 1 m (40 in). The

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

is thin, red when young, and gray in maturity. The foliage grows in sparse, very fragrant, usually pendulous sprays, varying from dull gray-green to glaucous blue-green in color. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are scale-like, 2–5 millimeters long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are globose to oblong, covered in warty resin glands, long, with 6 or 8 (rarely 4 or 10) scales, green to brown at first, maturing gray or gray-brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, and release pollen in February–March.

Distribution and habitat

The tree grows in limited populations in southwestern Oregon's Josephine and Jackson counties, and slightly more populously in a small section of

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

within Siskiyou,

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

, Shasta, Plumas and Tehama counties. It is probably the northernmost

. It is usually found in small, scattered populations, not in large forests, at altitudes of . This includes locales in the Modoc Plateau, southern

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, Klamath Mountains, and northern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. It is slow-growing in the wild, and is mostly restricted to sites difficult for plant growth, on

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially anti ...

s and on old lava flows. Its tolerance of these sites enables it to avoid competition from much faster-growing trees. It is found in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and yellow pine forest habitats.

Ecology

The tree's thin bark makes it susceptible to wildfire, exposure to which is required to release the seeds; these then colonize the scorched earth left behind. Fire suppression policies of the past decades have severely limited reproduction of the species. It is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. – Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2bcd v2.3)

References

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Hesperocyparis bakeri'' (Baker's cypress)

Jepson Manual eFlora (JM2) treatment of ''Hesperocyparis bakeri''USDA Plants Profile for ''Hesperocyparis bakeri'' (Modoc cypress)photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in 1934 in Siskiyou County, CaliforniaUC Calphotos Photos Gallery: ''Hesperocyparis bakeri''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q458366 bakeri Flora of California Flora of Oregon Endemic flora of the United States Trees of the Northwestern United States Trees of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands ~ ~ ~ Plants described in 1909 Taxa named by Willis Linn Jepson

Description

Distribution and habitat

Ecology

See also

References

External links