The Family Cupressaceae is known as the Cypress family and of cosmopolitan distribution. The family includes dioecious and monoecious coniferous trees and shrubs from 1 m to 112 m (3 - 370 ft) tall, in 27 to 30 genera (17 monotypic) with about 130-140 species. Bark of mature trees is commonly orange- to red- brown and of stringy texture, often peeling in vertical strips, but smooth, scaly or hard and square-cracked in some species. Leaves are either spiral, decussate (opposite) or whorled, and more needle-like on young plants, or small and scale-like on mature plants of many (but not all) species. Most are evergreen, but three genera (Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia, Taxodium) are deciduous or include deciduous species. Cones are either woody, leathery, or (in Juniperus) berry-like and fleshy, with one to several ovules per scale. Seedlings usually have two cotyledons, but occasionally up to six.

The Family Cupressaceae is now widely regarded as including the Taxodiaceae, previously treated as a distinct family, but now shown not to differ from the Cupressaceae in any consistent characteristics. The one exception is the Genus Sciadopitys, which is genetically distinct from the rest of the Cupressaceae, and is now treated in its own family: Sciadopityaceae.

Many of the species are important timber sources, especially in the genera Chamaecyparis, Cryptomeria, Cunninghamia, Cupressus, Sequoia, and Thuja. Many are also of great importance in horticulture, most notably Lawson's cypress, several junipers and the infamous hybrid Leyland cypress.

Table of contents

1 References 2 External Links 3 Links to other Pinales

References

• Arboretum de Villardebelle Cone images of many species
• Gymnosperm Database: Cupressaceae
• Flora of North America - Cupressaceae
• Digital Flora of Texas List of images of the Cupressaceae