Cupressus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cupressus
Cupressus sempervirens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Cupressaceae
Subfamily:	Cupressoideae
Genus:	Cupressus L.
Species
See text

Cupressus is a group of evergreen trees and large shrubs, commonly known as cypress trees. These trees are part of the Cupressaceae family. The name "cypress" comes from an old French word, which came from the Latin word cyparissus, meaning the same thing.

About Cypress Trees

Cypress trees are evergreen, meaning they keep their leaves all year round. They can grow quite tall, from 5 to 40 meters (about 16 to 130 feet). Their leaves are small and flat, like scales, usually 2–6 mm long. These leaves stay on the tree for three to five years. When the plants are very young, their leaves are more like needles, about 5–15 mm long.

Cypress trees produce cones. These cones are 8–40 mm long and can be round or egg-shaped. They have four to 14 scales. It takes about 18 to 24 months for the cones to fully grow after pollination. Inside the cones are small seeds, about 4–7 mm long, with two thin wings on each side. These wings help the seeds fly away in the wind.

Many cypress species are good at surviving forest fires. They keep their seeds safe inside closed cones for many years. When a fire happens and the parent tree dies, the heat makes the cones open. This releases the seeds onto the burnt ground, allowing new trees to grow. Other types of cypress trees simply open their cones when the seeds are ready.

Where Do Cypress Trees Grow?

Cypress trees naturally grow in different places around the Northern Hemisphere. You can find them in warm areas like western North America, Central America, northwest Africa, the Middle East, the Himalayas, southern China, and northern Vietnam.

Because people like how they look, cypress trees are now grown in parks and gardens all over the world. This means it can sometimes be hard to tell where a cypress tree originally came from!

How Are Cypress Trees Used?

Many types of cypress trees are planted as beautiful, decorative trees in parks and around temples, especially in Asia. Some species are also grown for their wood, which is very strong and lasts a long time.

A popular tree for gardens is the Leyland cypress (Cupressus × leylandii). This tree is a hybrid, meaning it's a mix of two different parent trees. One parent is the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), which is a type of Cupressus.

Types of Cypress Trees

Scientists don't always agree on the exact number of cypress species. Some say there are 16, while others count 25 or more! This is because many cypress groups are small and grow in isolated places. It can be tricky to decide if they are a completely new species or just a different kind of an existing one.

Cypress Trees from the Old World

"Old World" cypress trees are found in places like Europe, Asia, and Africa. They usually have cones with more scales (8–14 scales). Each scale has a short, wide ridge. The C. sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress) is a very well-known type of cypress from the Old World.

Image	Cone	Name	Common Name	Where it grows
Moroccan cypress tree	Moroccan cypress cone	Cupressus atlantica	Moroccan cypress	western Morocco.
Bhutan cypress tree	Bhutan cypress cone	Cupressus cashmeriana	Bhutan cypress	eastern Himalaya in Bhutan and parts of India.
Cheng's cypress tree		Cupressus chengiana	Cheng's cypress	Gansu and Sichuan Provinces, China.
Yunnan cypress tree	Yunnan cypress cone	Cupressus duclouxiana	Yunnan cypress, South Tibet cypress	Yunnan and Sichuan, China.
Saharan cypress tree		Cupressus dupreziana	Saharan cypress	southeast Algeria.
Chinese weeping cypress tree	Chinese weeping cypress cone	Cupressus funebris	Chinese weeping cypress	southwestern and central China.
Tibetan cypress tree		Cupressus gigantea	Tibetan cypress	Southeast Tibet - China.
Mediterranean cypress tree	Mediterranean cypress cone	Cupressus sempervirens	Mediterranean cypress	northeast Libya, southern Albania, coastal Bulgaria, southern coastal Croatia, southern Montenegro, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, southern Greece, southern Turkey, Cyprus, northern Egypt, western Syria, Lebanon, Malta, Italy, Israel, western Jordan, and Iran.
Tonkin cypress tree		Cupressus torulosa	Tonkin cypress, Himalayan cypress	Sichuan of China and in Vietnam.
Vietnamese cypress tree		Cupressus vietnamensis	Vietnamese cypress, Vietnamese golden cypress	Vietnam.

Cypress Trees from the New World

"New World" cypress trees are found in North and Central America. These types usually have cones with fewer scales (4-8 scales). Each scale often has a clear, narrow spike. Recent studies show that these New World cypresses are not as closely related to the Old World ones as once thought. They are now sometimes placed in a different group called Callitropsis.

These New World species often grow in dry, desert-like areas. They tend to be found in small, separate groups.

Image	Cone	Name	Common Name	Where it grows
Santa Cruz cypress tree	Santa Cruz cypress cones	Cupressus abramsiana	Santa Cruz cypress	Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties in west-central California.
Arizona cypress tree	Arizona cypress cones	Cupressus arizonica	Arizona cypress	southwestern United States (Arizona, Utah, southwestern New Mexico, and southern California, with a few populations in southern Nevada and in the Chisos Mountains of western Texas), and in Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and northern Baja California).
Modoc cypress tree	Modoc cypress cones	Cupressus bakeri	Modoc cypress	northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon.
Tecate cypress tree	Tecate cypress cones	Cupressus forbesii	Tecate cypress	Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County and in San Diego County within Southern California, and in northern Baja California state of Mexico.
Smooth Arizona cypress tree	Smooth Arizona cypress cones	Cupressus glabra	smooth Arizona cypress	Sedona, Arizona.
Gowen cypress tree		Cupressus goveniana	Gowen cypress, Californian cypress	Monterey County, California.
Guadalupe cypress tree		Cupressus guadalupensis	Guadalupe cypress	Mexico, found only on Guadalupe Island.
Mexican cypress tree	Mexican cypress cones	Cupressus lusitanica	Mexican cypress	Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras).
Macnab cypress tree	Macnab cypress cones	Cupressus macnabiana	Macnab cypress	northern California.
Monterey cypress tree	Monterey cypress cones	Cupressus macrocarpa	Monterey cypress	Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and at Point Lobos near Carmel, California.
		Cupressus montana	San Pedro Martir cypress	Mexico: Baja California.
Piute cypress tree	Piute cypress cones	Cupressus nevadensis	Piute cypress	Southern Sierra Nevada, within Kern County, California and Tulare County.
Nootka cypress tree	Nootka cypress cones	Cupressus nootkatensis	Nootka cypress	Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Mendocino cypress tree	Mendocino cypress cones	Cupressus pigmaea	Mendocino cypress	Mendocino and Sonoma Counties in northwestern California.
El Rincon cypress tree	El Rincon cypress cones	Cupressus revealiana	El Rincon cypress	Baja California in northwestern Mexico.
Sargent cypress tree	Sargent cypress cones	Cupressus sargentii	Sargent cypress	Mendocino County southwards to Santa Barbara County California.
Cuyamaca cypress tree	Cuyamaca cypress cones	Cupressus stephensonii	Cuyamaca cypress	San Diego County California.

Cypress Pollen and Allergies

All cypress plants, including those from the New World, can cause strong allergies. They have a very high allergy rating. In warm, Mediterranean places, these plants release a lot of pollen for about seven months each year. This pollen can cause allergy symptoms in many people.

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See also

In Spanish: Ciprés para niños