Cupressus sempervirens L., Cupressaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Cupressus atlantica Gaussen; Cupressus dupreziana A. Camus; Cupressus horizontalis Mill.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: di zhong hai bai mu

English: Italian cypress, Mediterranean cypress

French: cyprès commun, cyprès d'Italie

Spanish: ciprés común, ciprés italiano, ciprés mediterráneo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees to 30 m tall; bark grayish brown, shallowly fissured; branches ascending or horizontally spreading; branchlets not arranged in a plane, ultimate ones 4-angled, ca. 1 mm in diameter. Leaves in 4 ranks, densely appressed, dark green, not glaucous, 0.5-1 mm, ridged abaxially, without a conspicuous abaxial gland, apex obtuse or subacute. Pollen cones 4-8 mm. Seed cones yellowish gray when ripe, subglobose or ellipsoid, 2.5-4 x 2-3 cm; cone scales 8-14, each fertile scale with 8-20 seeds"  (Flora of China online).

"Tree to 150 feet tall; branchlets slightly flattened, displayed in single plane along primary branches.  Leaves 0.04 inches long, dull green, slightly differentiated into flat facial leaves and wraparound lateral leaves.  Pollen cone cylindrical, 0.1-0.13 inches long, brownish.  Seed cone subglobose, 0.8-1.4 inches in diameter, not glaucous, scales 6-14, center with inconspicuous knob.  Seeds ca 0.2 long, dark brown; cotyledons 2"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; pp. 64-65).

Habitat/ecology:  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0-500 m.  Somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 35 months, precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter; humid areas, with almost constant rainfall, short dry periods are possible (generally not longer than 1 month).  Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north; some shadow, some protection against direct sunlight, some shadow from vegetation, filtering about 20-40% of light"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed.  In Hawaii, "seed cones seldom develop at lower, warmer elevations, although they are produced abundantly at 2,000-4,000 feet"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 65).

Native range:  Libya, Greece, Cypress and the Middle East (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) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	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. 480, 526, 553) Voucher cited: Danton H(1558)1320. "Está presente, por lo que sabemos, en un solo jardin del pueblo de San Juan Bautista".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 5)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 65)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1985) (voucher ID: BISH 506832) Taxon name on voucher: Cupressus sempervirens L.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1926) (voucher ID: BISH 115362) Taxon name on voucher: Cupressus sempervirens L.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 65)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1930) (voucher ID: BISH 115371) Taxon name on voucher: Cupressus sempervirens L.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 65) Vouchers cited: J. Bernier 371, J. Bernier 373, MacKee 38844

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Belov, Michail (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Jiangsu
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 44)

Additional information:
Photos and other information from Chileflora.

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

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

Taxonomic information about Cupressus sempervirens 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.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1926. Voucher specimen #BISH115362(Munro, G.C. 714).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1930. Voucher specimen #BISH115371(Neal, M.C. s.n.).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1985. Voucher specimen #BISH506832(Howard, R.A. 20221).

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.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

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.

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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).