Cupressus sempervirens Italian Cypress
Family
Cupressaceae
Genus
Cupressus [ku-PRES-sus]
classical name, said to be from Gr. kuo, to produce, parisos, equal, alluding to
the symmetrical form of the Italian Cypress
Species
sempervirens [sem-per-VEER-enz]
always green
Properties
tree
Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress,
Tuscan cypress, graveyard cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to
the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, southern coastal
Croatia (Dalmatia), southern Greece, southern Turkey, Cyprus, northern Egypt, western
Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Malta, Italy, western Jordan, and also a disjunct population in
Iran. C. sempervirens is a medium-sized coniferous evergreen tree to 35 m (115 ft) tall,
with a conic crown with level branches and variably loosely hanging branchlets. It is
very long-lived, with some trees reported to be over 1,000 years old. The foliage grows
in dense sprays, dark green in colour. The leaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm long, and
produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are ovoid or oblong, 25–40 mm
long, with 10-14 scales, green at first, maturing brown about 20–24 months after
pollination. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, and release pollen in late winter. It is
moderately susceptible to cypress canker, caused by the fungus Seiridium cardinale, and
can suffer extensive dieback where this disease is common. The species name sempervirens
comes from the Latin for 'evergreen'.
fruit
tree
tree
distribution