Product Code Database
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa also known as Cupressus macrocarpa, or the Monterey cypress is a coniferous tree, and is one of several species of Cupressaceae trees native to California.
The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of California. Due to being a glacial relict, the natural distributional range of the species during modern times is confined to two small relict populations near Carmel, California, at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and at Point Lobos.C. Michael Hogan & Michael P. Frankis. 2009. Monterey Cypress: Cupressus macrocarpa, GlobalTwitcher.com ed. N. Stromberg Historically during the peak of the last ice age, Monterey cypress would have likely comprised a much larger forest that extended much further north and south.Axelrod, D. I. (1982). Age and origin of the Monterey endemic area. Madroño, 29(3), 127–147.
The seed conifer cone are globose to oblong, 20–40 mm long, with 6–14 scales, green at first, maturing brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The pollen cones are 3–5 mm long, and release their pollen in late winter or early spring.K. Rushforth (1987). 074702801X, Helm. 074702801X The specific epithet macrocarpa (from Greek language) means "with large fruit".
Because of the large trunk size some trees develop, people have assumed that individual H. macrocarpa trees may be up to 2,000 years old. However, the longest-lived report based on physical evidence is only 284 years old. The renowned Californian botanist Willis Linn Jepson wrote that "the advertisement of C. macrocarpa in seaside literature as 1,000 to 2,000 years old does not ... rest upon any actual data, and probably represents a desire to minister to a popular craving for superlatives". Few trees survive beyond 100 years. As a counterpoint to this, many of the earliest introductions of the species into New Zealand around 1860 still survive and the major cause of mortality of these cultivated specimens is felling.S.W. Burstall & E.V. Sale (1984). 058901532X, A.H. & A.W. Reed Ltd. 058901532X One such example is the 160 year old St. Barnabas Church tree in Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand.
Along with other New World Cupressus species, it has recently been transferred to the genus Hesperocyparis, on genetic evidence that the New World Cupressus (NWC) are not very closely related to the Old World Cupressus (OWC) species.
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is a Paleoendemism, with fossilized remains discovered in Drakes Bay and Rancho La Brea evidencing a much larger extent in the past.
Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear DNA sequences and organismic data recover distinct lineages, with the NWC being sister to Juniper or Juniperus and the OWC.Terry, R. G., & Adams, R. P. (2015). A molecular re-examination of phylogenetic relationships among Juniperus, Cupressus, and the Hesperocyparis-Callitropsis-Xanthocyparis clades of Cupressaceae. Phytologia, 97(1), 66-74. However, chloroplast sequences sometimes place both OWC and NWC with a common descent, possibly due to ancient hybridization.Yang, Z. Y., Ran, J. H., & Wang, X. Q. (2012). Three genome-based phylogeny of Cupressaceae sl: further evidence for the evolution of gymnosperms and Southern Hemisphere biogeography. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 64(3), 452-470. Other more obvious morphological differences support their separation, such as the presence of 3 to 5 in NWC, as opposed to 2 in Old World species, glaucous seed coats, and monomorphic leaves on ultimate branch segments.Terry, R. G., Pyne, M. I., Bartel, J. A., & Adams, R. P. (2016). A molecular biogeography of the New World cypresses (Callitropsis, Hesperocyparis; Cupressaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution, 302(7), 921-942.
Analysis of phylogenetic relationships show that the species is placed within the Macrocarpa clade, which diverged from the Arizonica clade, both within Hesperocyparis. The two clades are separated biogeographically by the Transverse Ranges, which forms a barrier to any north–south migration of most species within these clades.
This species has been widely planted outside its native range, particularly along the coasts of California and Oregon. Its distribution includes Great Britain (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands), France, Ireland, Greece, Italy and Portugal. In New Zealand, plantings have naturalized, finding conditions there more favorable than in its native range. It has also been grown experimentally as a timber crop in Kenya.
The tree has been successfully planted in Sri Lanka, with a 130-year old specimen on view at the Hakgala Botanical Garden in Nuwara Eliya.
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is also grown in South Africa. For example, a coppicing has been planted to commemorate South African infantrymen who died in the Allied cause in Italy and North Africa during World War 2. As in California, the Cape trees are gnarled and wind-sculpted.
Monterey Cypress has been introduced to the Falkland Islands, where it exists in a small forest at Hill Cove and another at Carcass Island.
When planted in areas with hot summers, for example in interior California away from the coastal fog belt, Monterey cypress has proved highly susceptible to cypress canker, caused by the fungus Seiridium cardinale, and rarely survives more than a few years. This disease is not a problem where summers are cool.
The foliage is slightly toxic to livestock and can cause miscarriages in cattle. Sawn logs are used by many craftspeople, some boat builders and small manufacturers, as a furniture structural material and a decorative wood because of its fine colours, though it must be preserved carefully to prevent the wood from splitting. It is also a fast, hot burning, albeit sparky (therefore not suited to open fires), firewood.
Monterey cypress is one of the parents of the fast-growing cultivated hybrid Leyland cypress, Cupressus × Leylandii, the other parent being Nootka cypress ( Callitropsis nootkatensis).
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa grown in New Zealand are:
|
|
