Cypress is a common name for various

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

ous trees or shrubs of northern

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions that belong to the family

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioeci ...

. The word ''cypress'' is derived from

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

''cipres'', which was imported from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''cypressus'', the latinisation of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

κυπάρισσος ('' kyparissos''). Cypress trees are a large classification of conifers, encompassing the trees and shrubs from the cypress family (Cupressaceae) and many others with the word “cypress” in their common name. Many cypress trees have needle-like, evergreen foliage and acorn-like seed cones.

Species

Species that are commonly known as cypresses include: Most prominently: *Cypress (multiple species within the genus ''

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 ...

'') Otherwise: *African cypress (''

Widdringtonia ''Widdringtonia'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). The name was Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Widdrington (1787� ...

'' species), native to Southern Africa *Bald, Pond, and Montezuma cypresses ('' Taxodium'' species), native to North America *Chinese swamp cypress ('' Glyptostrobus pensilis''), Vietnam, critically endangered *Cordilleran cypress (''

Austrocedrus chilensis ''Austrocedrus'' is a genus of conifer belonging to the cypress family (Cupressaceae). It has only one species, ''Austrocedrus chilensis'', native to the Valdivian temperate rain forests and the adjacent drier steppe-forests of central-southern ...

''), native to Chile and Argentina *Cypress-pines (''

Actinostrobus ''Actinostrobus'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). Common names include cypress, sandplain-cypress and cypress-pine, the last of these shared by the closely related genus '' Callitris''. Species There are thre ...

'' species), southwestern Australia *Cypress-pines (''

Callitris ''Callitris'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are 16 recognized species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other three (''C. neocaledonica, C. sulcata'' and ''C. p ...

'' species), Australia and New Caledonia *False cypress (''

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins of t ...

'' species), Asia and North America. *Fujian cypress ('' Fokienia hodginsii''), southeastern China *Guaitecas cypress ('' Pilgerodendron uviferum''), western

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

and

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

*Japanese cypress (''

Chamaecyparis obtusa ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and or ...

''), East Asia *Patagonian cypress ('' Fitzroya cupressoides''), southern Chile and Argentina *Mediterranean cypress (''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, so ...

''), famous for its longevity, popular garden plant *Monterey cypress (''

Cupressus macrocarpa ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California. The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...

''), native to the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded i ...

, California *Nootka cypress (''

Cupressus nootkatensis ''Callitropsis nootkatensis'', formerly known as ''Cupressus nootkatensis'' ( syn. ''Xanthocyparis nootkatensis'') is a species of trees in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many ...

''), native to the Pacific Northwest of North America *Siberian cypress (''

Microbiota decussata ''Microbiota'' is a monotypic genus of evergreen coniferous shrubs in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, ''Microbiota decussata'' (Siberian carpet cypress, Russian arbor-vitae). The plant is native and endemic to a limi ...

'') *Summer cypress (''

Bassia scoparia ''Bassia scoparia'' is a large annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae ('' sensu lato'') native to Eurasia. It has been introduced to many parts of North America,

''), in the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...

*Western red cedar (''

Thuja plicata ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

''), native to North America. The family

also contains 13–16 other genera (not listed above) that do not bear ''cypress'' in their common names. File:Actinostrobos arenarius fruits murchison.JPG, ''

Actinostrobus arenarius ''Actinostrobus arenarius'' is a species of conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. Its common names include sandplain cypress,Eckenwalder, J.E. 2009. ''Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference''. Timber Press. p. 123 Bruce cypress, Br ...

'' File:Austrocedrus chilensis por pabloendemico - 001.jpg, ''

'' File:Slender Cypress-pine.jpg, ''

Callitris preissii ''Callitris preissii'' is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae, endemic to Rottnest Island, Australia. Common names include Rottnest Island pine, Murray pine, maroong, southern cypress pine, or slender cypress pine. The Noongar peopl ...

'' File:Chamaecyparis Pisifera bonsai.JPG, ''

Chamaecyparis pisifera ''Chamaecyparis pisifera'' (Sawara cypress or Sawara ja, サワラ , translit=Sawara) is a species of false cypress, native to central and southern Japan, on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū.Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and ...

'',

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of '' penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produc ...

File:Lone Cypress Sunset.JPG, ''

'',

, California File:Nootka Cypress.jpg, ''

'' File:Flickr - lo.tangelini - i.jpg, ''

'' (Mediterranean Cypress),

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

File:Fokienia hodginsii - Kunming Botanical Garden - DSC03140.JPG, '' Fokienia hodginsii'' File:Fitzroya cupressoides (da Silvio Rossi).jpg, '' Fitzroya cupressoides'' File:Glyptostrobus pensilis 2007.06.28 10.10.35-p6280031.jpg, '' Glyptostrobus pensilis'' foliage File:Pilgerodendron uviferum.jpg, '' Pilgerodendron uviferum'' File:Taxodium ascendens in the Black Water, Okefenokee.jpg, ''

Taxodium ascendens ''Taxodium ascendens'', also known as pond cypress, is a deciduous conifer of the genus '' Taxodium'', native to North America. Many botanists treat it as a variety of bald cypress, '' Taxodium distichum'' (as ''T. distichum'' var. ''imbricatum'' ...

'',

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

, Georgia (USA) File:Widdringtonia whytei Mulanje Malawi.jpg, ''

Widdringtonia whytei ''Widdringtonia whytei'', the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of conifer native to Malawi, where it is endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830–2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesting for its ...

'', Malawi

References

{{Plant common name Cupressaceae Symbols of Hades

Species

See also

References