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ciprés monterrey, Monterey cypress

Arizona cypress, Arizona smooth cypress, cedro, cedro blanco, ciprés de Arizona, Cuyamaca cypress, Piute cypress

Habit Trees to 25 m; crown generally broadly spreading, especially on exposed headlands, fairly sparse, often composed of few major limbs from near ground, more upright in sheltered locations. Trees to 23 m, shrubby where subject to fires; crown conic at first, broadly columnar with age, dense.
Bark

rough, fibrous.

smooth at first, remaining so or becoming rough, furrowed, fibrous.

Branchlets

decussate, 1.5–2 mm diam.

decussate, 1.3–2.3 mm diam.

Leaves

without gland or sometimes with inconspicuous, shallow, pitlike, abaxial gland that does not produce drop of resin, not glaucous.

usually with conspicuous, pitlike, abaxial gland that produces drop of resin, often highly glaucous.

Pollen cones

4–6 × 2.5–3 mm;

pollen sacs 6–10.

2–5 × 2 mm;

pollen sacs mostly 4–6.

Seed(s)

cones oblong, 2.5–4 cm, grayish brown, not glaucous;

scales 4–6 pairs, smooth, umbo nearly flat at maturity.

cones globose or oblong, mostly 2–3 cm, gray or brown, often glaucous at first;

scales mostly 3–4 pairs, smooth or with scattered resin blisters, sometimes with erect conic umbos to 4 mm, especially on apical scales.

2n

= 22.

= 22.

Cupressus macrocarpa

Cupressus arizonica

Habitat Coastal bluffs Canyon bottoms, pinyon-juniper woodland, chaparral
Elevation 5–35 m [20–110 ft] 750–2000 m [2500–6600 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; TX; Mexico
Discussion

The geographically most restricted taxon recognized here, Cupressus macrocarpa is confined today to two picturesque groves near Monterey, but it is also known from fossils to have been in other regions. It is much planted and commonly naturalized near the coast from central California north to Washington and in warm temperate and subtropical regions worldwide.

Of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Bark texture and foliage features have been used to distinguish geographic varieties or segregate species. Although bark texture may be consistent within populations, over the species as a whole there is complete intergradation between smooth and fibrous barks. Various forms are commonly cultivated and sometimes persistent in the southern United States.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 2. Treatment author: James E. Eckenwalder. FNA vol. 2. Treatment author: James E. Eckenwalder.
Parent taxa Cupressaceae > Cupressus Cupressaceae > Cupressus
Sibling taxa
C. arizonica, C. bakeri, C. goveniana, C. guadalupensis, C. macnabiana, C. sargentii
C. bakeri, C. goveniana, C. guadalupensis, C. macnabiana, C. macrocarpa, C. sargentii
Synonyms C. arizonica var. glabra, C. arizonica var. nevadensis, C. arizonica var. stephensonii, C. glabra, C. nevadensis, C. stephensonii
Name authority Hartweg: J. Hort. Soc. London 2: 187. (1847) Greene: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 9: 64. (1882)
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