Cupressus, the cypresses, is a genus of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. It is one of several genera in the family that share the same common name; for the others, see cypress. It is currently considered a polyphyletic group. Based on genetic and morphological analysis, the genus Cupressus is in the subfamily Cupressoideae.
The common name "cypress" comes via the Old French cipres from the Latin cyparissus, which is the latinisation of the Greek κυπάρισσος (kypárissos). The name derives from Cyparissus, a mythological figure who was turned into a tree after killing a stag.
As currently treated, cypresses are native plants in scattered localities in mainly warm temperate climate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, including northwest Africa, the Middle East, the Himalayas, southern China and northern Vietnam. As with other conifers, extensive cultivation has led to a wide variety of forms, sizes and colours, that are grown in parks and gardens worldwide.
Description
Cypress are evergreen trees or large shrubs, growing to 5–40 m (16–131 ft) tall, exceptionally up to 102 m tall (the second-tallest tree species on earth, after Sequoia sempervirens) in Cupressus austrotibetica. The leaves are scale-like, 2–6 mm long, arranged in opposite decussate pairs, and persist for three to five years. On young plants up to two years old, the leaves are needle-like and 5–15 mm long. The cones are 8–40 mm long, globose or ovoid with 4 to 14 scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; they are mature in 18–24 months from pollination. The seeds are small, 4–7 mm long, with two narrow wings, one along each side of the seed.
Many of the species are adapted to forest fires, holding their seeds for many years in closed cones until the parent trees are killed by a fire; the seeds are then released to colonise the bare, burnt ground. In other species, the cones open at maturity to release the seeds.
