''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related

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 ...

es), is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

conifers 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 extan ...

in the cypress

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to eastern Asia (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) and to the western and eastern margins of the United States. The name is derived from 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 ...

''khamai'' (χαμαί), meaning "on the earth", and ''kuparissos'' (κυπάρισσος) for "cypress". They are medium-sized to large

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, which ...

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 ...

s growing from tall, with foliage in flat sprays. 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 of two types, needle-like juvenile leaves on young seedlings up to a year old, and scale-like adult leaves. The

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 oval, with 8-14 scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; each scale bears 2-4 small

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. ;Species # ''

Chamaecyparis formosensis ''Chamaecyparis formosensis'' (Formosan cypress, Taiwan cypress, Taiwan red cypress; Chinese: 紅檜/红桧 ''hóngguì, Taiwan pron. hóngkuài'') is a species of ''Chamaecyparis'', endemic to Taiwan, where it grows in the central mountains at ...

'' Matsum. -

# ''

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ''Chamaecyparis lawsoniana'', known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus ''Chamaecyparis'', family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to in the v ...

'' (A.Murray) Parl., Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress -

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

# '' Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. -

# '' Chamaecyparis pisifera'' (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl. -

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

# ''

Chamaecyparis taiwanensis ''Chamaecyparis taiwanensis'' (Taiwan cypress; ) is a species of cypress, native to the mountains of Taiwan, where it grows at altitudes of 1300–2800 m.Rushforth, K. (1987). ''Conifers''. Helm . Description It is a slow-growing coniferous tr ...

'' Masam. & Suzuki - Taiwan # ''

Chamaecyparis thyoides ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...

'' (L.) Britton, Atlantic white cedar (among other names) - Eastern United States (

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

) ''

'' is treated by many authors as a variety of ''C. obtusa'' (as ''C. obtusa'' var. ''formosana''). Genus ''

Fokienia ''Fokienia'' is a genus of conifer tree belonging to the cypress family. In its characteristics, ''Fokienia'' is intermediate between the genera of ''Chamaecyparis'' and ''Calocedrus''. Genetically ''Fokienia'' is much closer to ''Chamaecyparis'' ...

'' is not always recognized as a separate genus from ''Chamaecyparis'', in which case ''Chamaecyparis hodginsii'' (=''

Fokienia hodginsii ''Fokienia'' is a genus of conifer tree belonging to the cypress family. In its characteristics, ''Fokienia'' is intermediate between the genera of ''Chamaecyparis'' and ''Calocedrus''. Genetically ''Fokienia'' is much closer to ''Chamaecyparis'' ...

'') should be added to the above list. On the other hand, a species which used to be included in this genus, as ''

Chamaecyparis 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 ...

'', had been transferred on the basis of strong genetic and morphological evidence to the separate genus ''

Xanthocyparis ''Xanthocyparis'' is a genus of cypresses in the family Cupressaceae. , it has only one species, ''Xanthocyparis vietnamensis'', native to Vietnam and southeast China. It is commonly known as the Vietnamese golden cypress. The Nootka cypress, ''C ...

'' as '' Xanthocyparis nootkatensis'' in the early 2000s. After further phylogenetic work the species was moved to the monotypic genus ''

Callitropsis nootkatensis ''Callitropsis nootkatensis'', formerly known as ''Cupressus nootkatensis'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Xanthocyparis nootkatensis'') is a species of trees in the Cupressaceae, cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North Am ...

'', being sister to the genus ''

Hesperocyparis ''Hesperocyparis'' (western cypress) is a genus of trees in the family Cupressaceae, containing North American species otherwise assigned to the genus ''Cupressus''. They are found throughout western North America. Only a few species have wide ra ...

'', and both genera forming a clade with ''Xanthocyparis'' as its sister. There are also several species described from the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

including: *†''

Chamaecyparis eureka ''Chamaecyparis eureka'' is an extinct species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is known from fossil foliage found in the Buchanan Lake Formation deposits, dated to the middle Eocene Lutetian stage (), from western Axel Heiberg Island, ...

'' Middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada. *†'' Chamaecyparis linguaefolia'' Early-Middle

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, USA. *†''Chamaecyparis ravenscragensis'' (=''Fokienia ravenscragensis''), if genus ''Fokienia'' is not recognized. ''Chamaecyparis'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including

juniper pug The juniper pug or juniper looper (''Eupithecia pusillata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found throughout the Palearctic and in the Nearctic. Sub ...

and

pine beauty The pine beauty (''Panolis flammea'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a common species of pine woods in Europe. The distribution area extends from the west of Catalonia over southern France, central Italy, central Europe to western Si ...

Cultivation and uses

Four species (''C. lawsoniana, C. obtusa, C. pisifera'', and ''C. thyoides'') are of considerable importance as

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s in horticulture; several hundred

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been selected for various traits, including dwarf size, yellow, blue, silvery or variegated foliage, permanent retention of juvenile leaves, and thread-like shoots with reduced branching. In some areas, cultivation is limited by ''

Phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek language, Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on cro ...

'' root rot diseases, with ''C. lawsoniana'' being particularly susceptible to ''P. lateralis''. The wood is scented, and is highly valued, particularly in Japan, where it is used for temple construction.

References

* Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. . * Hwang, S.-Y., Lin, H.-W., Kuo, Y.-S., & Lin, T.-P. (2001). RAPD variation in relation to population differentiation of Chamaecyparis formosensis and Chamaecyparis taiwanensis. ''Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin''. 42: 173–179. Availabl
online
(pdf file). {{Taxonbar, from=Q147791 Conifer genera