CYPRESS OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 147 



cultivated in India, China, and some parts of tropical America. 

 C. esculentiis is cultivated in France, Italy, and the South of 

 Europe. The taste of the roots when roasted is compared to 

 potatoes. It is by some used as a substitute for coffee. Several 

 species are extensively cultivated for their flower - stalks, of 

 which ropes and mats are made. The Indian floor-matting is 

 made of the culms of C. Pangorei, and in China C, tegetiformis 

 and C. {Lepironia) mucronata are extensively cultivated. They 

 are aquatic, and grow in the water like rice, attaining a 

 height of 5 to 6 feet ; and in a manufactory near Canton forty 

 looms are said to be constantly employed in making mats, which 

 are of varied designs. They are generally of a pale yeUow, but 

 some are variously coloured. They are largely imported from 

 Canton to Hong-Kong, United States, this, and other countries. 

 {See Papyrus.) 



Cypress, Deciduous {Taxodmm disticlm7ii), a tree of the 

 Coniferse family, of considerable size, native of the Southern 

 United States, having horizontal branches and small flat 

 leaves, set in two rows (distichous), and are deciduous. It is 

 perfectly hardy in this country, attaining a height of 50 or 

 more feet. Its heart-wood is of a beautiful pink-red colour, 

 but soft. It is remarkable for the hollow excrescences produced 

 by the roots at a considerable distance from the tree, which rise 

 to a height of 2 or 3 feet from the ground. They are used for 

 many domestic purposes in its native country. 



Cypress, Evergreen {Cupressus sempervirens), native of 

 Western Asia. It has long been cultivated in this country and 

 throughout the southern parts of Europe. It is much planted 

 about Mohammedan burial-grounds, as may be seen in the 

 neighbourhood of Constantinople. It attains the height of from 

 40 to 60 feet, but in this country seldom reaches 20 feet, and 

 maintains a compact pyramidal form. 



Cypress, Funeral {Cupressus ftinebris), a remarkable tree, 

 native of China, attaining a height of 60 feet, having pendu- 

 lous branches like the weeping willow. It has been introduced 

 into this country, but is not found to be quite hardy. 



