Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg, Cupressaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: macrocarpa, Monterey cypress

Spanish: ciprés, ciprés Monterrey

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Medium-sized tree (sometimes very large in cultivation), pyramidal at first, with broad crown when mature.  Bark thick, reddish brown beneath, often becoming whitish on surface.  Adult foliage in dense, dark green masses, aromatic when bruised; branchlets systems not flattened.  1-3-year shoots terete, reddish brown, with leaves appressed except for the cuspidate, pungent, c. 1 mm long apex.  Leaves on ultimate twigs uniform, 1-2 mm long, broadly rhombic-ovate, tightly appressed, obtuse or subacute.  Male strobili 1.5-3 mm long, broad-oblong to subglobose.  Mature female cones very shortly stalked or sometimes subsessile, (1.5)-2-3.5 x (1.2)-1.5 x 3.2 cm, subglobose or broadly oblong-ellipsoid, shining brown; scales 8-14; umbo with small, obtuse, crescent-shaped process; seeds usually 10-20 per scale, of irregular shape, with small resinous tubercles"  (Webb et al., 1988; pp. 44-45).

Habitat/ecology:  "Monterey cypress thrives on limestone soils and in coastal situations exposed to salt spray.  Large trees are commonly seen on old upland homesteads in Hawaii, and it is widely planted in local forest reserves at 1,500-5,000 foot elevations"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 64).  On Maui (Hawai‘i), "observed spreading in upland areas near forestry plantings into nearby gulches and pastures" (Starr, Starr & Loope, 2008; p. 44).  In New Zealand, "lowland, especially towards the coast and in northern areas.  Occasional and scattered cultivation escape in the vicinity of planted trees, mainly in open, waste ground"  (Webb et al., 1988; pp. 44-45). In Victoria [Australia], "small populations in limited distribution have invaded dry coastal vegetation, lowland grassland, grassy woodland and rock outcrop vegetation" (Carr et al., 1992, cited in Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 105).

Propagation:  Wind-dispersed, winged seed (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 105).

Native range:  USA (Monterey Peninsula, California), cultivated and naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Rapa Nui (Easter) Island	Rapa Nui (Easter) Island (Isla de Pasqua)	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2008) (p. 46)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 457, 459, 553) "El problema de los Cupressus en el Archipieligo es bastante complicado. Por una parte la sistematica del genero no es del todo bien conocida y por otra parte, los cipreses fueron introducidos hace tiempo en el Archipiélago, probablemente con el establecimiento de la colonia de Alfredo de Rodt en 1877. En su Plan de Manejo, la CONAF cita C. macrocarpa como la especie introducida en el Archipiélago. En los viveros forestales, ocurre que varias especies cercanas son cultivadas bajo el mismo nombre. Por lo tanto, no podemos decir que el verdadero C. macrocarpa no hubiera sido introducido cuando se realizó con especies exóticas el poblamiento de los alrededores del pueblo de San Jan Bautista en los años sesenta".
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. 44-45) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 050818-01 (BISH)

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)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 105)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (pp. 44-45) "Occasional and scattered cultivation escape in the vicinity of planted trees, mainly in open, waste ground".
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  "A shallow-rooted tree, C. macrocarpa tends to blow over rather easily in high winds"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 64).

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "Common forest trees of Hawaii" (PDF format).

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

Information about Cupressus macrocarpa as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

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

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

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.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2008. Rapport de mission d'expertise a Rapa Nui du 02 au 11 Juin 2008: Plan d'action strategique pour lutter contre les plantes introduites envahissantes sur Rapa Nui (Île de pâques) [Strategic action plan to control invasive alien plants on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 62 pp. .

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:44-49.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.