''Cupressus goveniana'', now reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'', with the common names Californian cypress and Gowen cypress, is a species of cypress, that 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 else ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Distribution

The tree is endemic 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 ...

in coastal

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

, located on the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undevelope ...

, in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

. The tree is found in small, scattered populations, and not in large forests of its species. ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'' occurs with ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' (Monterey cypress), in the two groves where the Monterey cypress occurs naturally, in Monterey County. Outside of California, ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'' has been introduced to

Robinson Crusoe Island Robinson Crusoe Island ( es, Isla Róbinson Crusoe, ), formerly known as Más a Tierra (), is the second largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, situated 670 km (362 nmi; 416 mi) west of San Antonio, Chile, in the South Pacific Oc ...

in Chile. It is on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of endangered species.

Description

''Hesperocyparis goveniana'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

with a conic to ovoid-conic crown, very variable in size, with mature trees of under on some sites, to tall in ideal conditions. The

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

grows in dense sprays, dark green to somewhat yellow-green in color. The leaves are scale-like, long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are globose to oblong, long, with 6 to 10 scales, green at first, maturing brown or gray-brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The cones remain closed for many years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

, thereby allowing the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s to colonize the bare ground exposed by the fire. The male cones are long, and release pollen in February/March. Typically cones of ''H. goveniana'' are smaller than those of ''H. macrocarpa''.

Taxonomy

The

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

or subspecies, formerly included under ''Cupressus goveniana'' by some botanists, include: *''Cupressus goveniana'' var. ''goveniana'' — reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis goveniana''. :

, strictly coastal, within of the coast and below altitude. Foliage dark green, not rough, with leaf tips not spreading; cones globose. *''Cupressus goveniana'' var. ''pigmaea'', reclassified as '' Hesperocyparis pygmaea'' — Mendocino cypress (vulnerable species). : Mendocino and Sonoma counties, coastal, within of the coast and below altitude. *''Cupressus goveniana'' var. ''abramsiana'', reclassified as '' Hesperocyparis abramsiana'' — Santa Cruz cypress (endangered species). : Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, in the Santa Cruz Mountains inland and at altitude. With yellow–green foliage slightly rough-textured from the acute and slightly spreading leaf tips; cones often oval.Gymnosperm Database: ''C. goveniana'' var. ''abramsiana'' (''Hesperocyparis abramsiana'')
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of ''Hesperocyparis goveniana''CalFlora Database: ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'' (Gowen cypress)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q287544 goveniana Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Monterey County, California Trees of the Southwestern United States Plants described in 1849