''Cupressus nevadensis'', now reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis nevadensis'',Jepson eFlora (JM2): ''Hesperocyparis nevadensis''
. accessed 8.28.2015. with the common name Paiute cypress, is a 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 native to a small area in

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 ...

of California, in the western United States.

Distribution

The Paiute cypress grows in a small area of the Southern Sierra Nevada, within Kern County, California and Tulare County. It is found on soils of granitic origin at altitudes of . It is found in pinyon/juniper and oak/pine woodlands,

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 closed-cone-cypress forest habitats. The largest grove composed primarily of the species is located south of the town of

Bodfish Bodfish is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southern Kern River Valley of the Southern Sierra Nevada, in Kern County, California. Bodfish is located east-northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 1,956 at the 2010 ...

in the Lake Isabella region. There are eight or so other populations of much smaller, scattered stands in the Southern Sierras.

Description

''Hesperocyparis nevadensis'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree with a conic crown, growing to heights of 10–25 m (exceptionally to 39 m), and a trunk diameter of up to 0.5 m (exceptionally to 1 m). The foliage grows in sparse, very fragrant, 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, highly glandular, resinous and aromatic, 2–5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are globose to oblong, 25–55 mm 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. The cones often remain closed for several years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire, thereby allowing the seeds to colonize the bare ground exposed by the natural fire.

Conservation

Like most California cypress, it is a pyrophyte, heavily reliant on wildfire for its regeneration. Fire suppression policies of the past decades have severely limited reproduction of this fire dependent species. It is on the IUCN Red List as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Taxonomy

It has been reclassified in the genus '' Hesperocyparis'', with other former ''

Cupressus ''Cupressus'' is one of several genera of evergreen conifers within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group. Based on genetic and morphological analysis, the ge ...

'' species native to western North America. It was also previously included as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

within '' Cupressus arizonica'', ''Cupressus arizonica'' subsp. ''nevadensis''
USDA: ''Hesperocyparis nevadensis'' synonyms; ''Cupressus arizonica'' subsp. ''nevadensis''
. accessed 8.28.2015

References

External links