Cupressus sempervirens
Common name:
Italian Cypress
Mediterranean Cypress
Pronunciation:
ku-PRES-us sem-per-VI-renz
Family:
Cupressaceae
Genus:
Type:
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Conifer, evergreen tree, two forms: (a) var. horizontalis, branches spreading, the form found in the wild; (b) var. sempervirens (syn. var. stricta, 'Stricta', 'Fastigiata'), branches ascending, columnar, this is the form most often in cultivation. Leaves uniform, scale-like, rhombic, obtuse, dull dark green. Cones subglobose or ellipsoid, 2-3 cm across, 8-14 scales, contracted into a small point, sometimes flat or slightly impressed in the middle, green at first, maturing brown about 20-24 months after pollination. The male cones are 3-5 mm long, and release pollen in spring.
- Sun, drought tolerant. Common in the Italian countryside, as well as southern California, and prominent in stylized gardens.
- Hardy to USDA Zone (7) 8 Native to the mountains of northern Iran, Turkey, Crete, and Cypress; introduced into Italy in ancient times and naturalized throughout much of the Mediterranean region.
-
Selections frequently available include:
- ‘Glauca’ (syn. ‘Glauca Stricta’) - columnar, foliage silvery blue.
- ‘Stricta’ - columnar, oldest form cultivated, not known in the wild, variable but more or less fastigiate (Jacobson, 1996).
- ‘Swane's Golden’ - narrow columnar tree, new foliage is golden yellow
- Tiny Tower™ (‘Monshel’) - columnar, foliage bluish, small form, slow growing
- sempervirens: evergreen.
- Oregon State Univ., Peavy Arboretum (Arboretum Road), along the south boundary, tree marked with a sign.
Click image to enlarge
-
plant habit, on a hillside in Montenegro
-
plant habit
-
plant habit
-
plant habit, a very columnar selection
-
branchlets
-
branchlets, close-up
-
leaves
-
cone development
-
trunk, bark
