Cypress

Not to be confused with Cyprus.

For other uses, see Cypress (disambiguation).

Monterey Cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa) planted in Melbourne, Australia

The Lone Cypress on 17-Mile Drive, Monterey Peninsula, California.

Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs. Most plants bearing the common name cypress are in the genera Cupressus and Chamaecyparis, but several other genera in the family also carry the name. The cypress tree is also a symbol of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, young girls, and the moon, very unlike her twin brother, Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, music, healing, and prophecies.

Cupressus sempervirens is famous for its longevity, and has been a popular garden plant for thousands of years.

The word "cypress" is derived from Old French "cipres", which was imported from Latin "cyparissus," the latinisation of the Greek κυπάρισσος (kyparissos).

• African Cypress (Widdringtonia species)
• Bald, Pond, and Montezuma Cypresses (Taxodium species, native to North America)
• Chinese Swamp Cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis)
• Cordilleran Cypress (Austrocedrus chilensis)
• Cypress (Callitropsis species)
• Cypress (Cupressus species)
• Cypress-pines (Actinostrobus species)
• Cypress-pines (Callitris species)
• False Cypress (Chamaecyparis species)
• Fujian Cypress (Fokienia hodginsii)
• Guaitecas Cypress (Pilgerodendron uviferum)
• Patagonian Cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides)
• Siberian Cypress (Microbiota decussata)

The Cupressaceae family also contains 13-16 other genera (not listed above) that do not bear cypress in their common names.

The word cypress is also used as a descriptor for the angiosperm vine in the bindweed family Convolvulaceae, known as the Cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit).

The plant called "summer cypress" is Bassia scoparia (Amaranthaceae).

See also

• Cypress forest
• Pine-cypress forest