''Cupressus gigantea'', the Tibetan cypress, is a species of

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

in 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, subdio ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. ''C. gigantea'' was previously classified as a subspecies of ''

Cupressus torulosa ''Cupressus torulosa'', commonly known as the Himalayan cypress or Bhutan cypress, is a species of cypress tree native to the mountainous northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, primarily the Himalayas. It is a large tree, growing up to i ...

'' because of their similar morphological characteristics and close distribution, but have since been

genetically Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working in ...

distinguished as separate species.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Southeast

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on the

Qinghai-Tibetan plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Tib ...

, particularly in the dry valleys of

Nyang River The Nyang River (; ; also transliterated as Niyang or Nanpan) is a major river in south-west Tibet and the second largest tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River by discharge. The Nyang has a length of 307.5 km and originates at 5,000 meters ...

and

Yarlung Tsangpo River The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called Da ...

. ''Cupressus gigantea'' is the biggest of all ''Cupressus'' species.

King cypress

The biggest known specimen is the famous King Cypress, about 50 meters high, 5.8 meters in diameter, of crown-projection-area; and calculated age of 2,600 years.

References

gigantea Endemic flora of Tibet Trees of China Vulnerable flora of Asia Plants described in 1975 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Li Kuo Fu {{conifer-stub