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 ex ...

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 t ...

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, subdio ...

. 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 intelligi ...

''cipres'', which was imported from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power ...

''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'') Otherwise: *African cypress ('' Widdringtonia'' 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'' species), southwestern Australia *Cypress-pines ('' Callitris'' species), Australia and New Caledonia *False cypress ('' Chamaecyparis'' species), Asia and North America. *Fujian cypress ('' Fokienia hodginsii''), southeastern China *Guaitecas cypress (''

Pilgerodendron uviferum ''Pilgerodendron'' is a genus of conifer belonging to the cypress family Cupressaceae. It has only one species, ''Pilgerodendron uviferum'', which is endemic to the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests of southern ...

''), 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 ...

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''), East Asia *Patagonian cypress (''

Fitzroya cupressoides ''Fitzroya'' is a monotypic genus in the cypress family. The single living species, ''Fitzroya cupressoides'', is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains and coastal of southern Chile, and only to the Andes mountains Argentina, ...

''), southern Chile and Argentina *Mediterranean cypress ('' Cupressus sempervirens''), 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 Calif ...

''), native to the Monterey Peninsula, California *Nootka cypress ('' Cupressus nootkatensis''), native to the Pacific Northwest of North America *Siberian cypress ('' Microbiota decussata'') *Summer cypress ('' Bassia scoparia''), 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''), 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'' 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'',

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 produce ...

File:Lone Cypress Sunset.JPG, ''

'', Monterey Peninsula, California File:Nootka Cypress.jpg, '' Cupressus nootkatensis'' File:Flickr - lo.tangelini - i.jpg, '' Cupressus sempervirens'' (Mediterranean Cypress),

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

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, ''

'' File:Glyptostrobus pensilis 2007.06.28 10.10.35-p6280031.jpg, '' Glyptostrobus pensilis'' foliage File:Pilgerodendron uviferum.jpg, ''

'' File:Taxodium ascendens in the Black Water, Okefenokee.jpg, '' Taxodium ascendens'', Okefenokee Swamp, 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 ...

'', Malawi

References

{{Plant common name Cupressaceae Symbols of Hades

Species

See also

References