Cupressus lusitanica Mill., Cupressaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Threat only at high elevations?  yes

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Arizona cypress, cedar of Goa, Mexican cypress, Portuguese cypress

Spanish: cipres

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A tree attaining 25-30 m in height. Crown broadly pyramidal, in older trees broad with pendulous branches. Bark thick, reddish-brown, with longitudinal fissures. Shoots quadrangular, pendulous, not in a single plane. Foliage distinctly bluish-green, four-ranked, ovate, closely pressed, usually with long, pointed apex. Cones globose, ca 12 mm across, bluish-green in the juvenile stage, turning dark brown when they ripen, they open and later fall, composed of 6-8 scales with a central strong, reflexed umbo, erect on the upper scales. Seeds about 75 to a cone, brown, with resin glands, about 4 mm long together with a narrow wing" (Vidakovic, 1991)

"To 75 ft., with somewhat drooping branchlets; leaves acute, glaucous-green; female cones 1/2 in. across; glaucous" (Bailey & Bailey, 1976; p. 346).

Habitat/ecology:  "This tree is grown in many countries as a garden ornamental and in commercial forestry plantations throughout the tropical and temperate world, including Australia. Hnatiuk (1990) listed the plant as being naturalised in Queensland and Carr et al., (1992) recorded the plant as having established localised populations in riparian vegetation in Victoria." (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 104). In the tropics, planted at higher elevations.

Propagation:  Wind-blown seed (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 104).

Native range:  "Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica at altitudes from 1200 to 3000 m. It is doubtful whether this species is native to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica" (Styles & Hughes, 1983; pp. 290-291).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 12) "A widely cultivated native of Mexico. Saplings develop spontaneously from seed around planted trees". Voucher cited: R.O. Gardner 5881 (AK)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (pp. 64-65) Voucher cited: MacKee 12168

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 104) Naturalized
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	probably introduced	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	probably introduced	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	probably introduced	Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. (1983) (pp. 269-291)

Comments:  Reported to be a potentially invasive species in Australia per Csurhes and Edwards, 1998.

Additional information:  Fact sheet from "Common forest trees of Hawaii" (PDF format).
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Cupressus lusitanica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Cupressus lusitanica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Little, Elbert L./Skolmen, Roger G. 1989. Common forest trees of Hawaii (native and introduced). USDA Agriculture Handbook 679. Washington, D.C. 377 pp. + plates.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Styles, B. T./Hughes, C. E. 1983. Studies of variation in Central American pines III. Notes on the taxonomy and nomenclature of the pines and related gymnosperms in Honduras and adjacent Latin America republics. Brenesia 21: 269-291.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vidakovic, Mirko. 1991. Conifers: morphology and variation. Translated from Croatian by Maja Soljan. Croatia: Graficki Zavod Hrvatske. .