98 



The Cypresses 



I. MONTEREY CYPRESS Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg 



Cupressus Hartwegi Carriere 



This very local tree is confined to a narrow strip of coast land, only several 

 miles long, near Monterey bay, California, where it thrives under the most severe 

 exposure and attains a maximum height of 21 meters, with a trunk diameter of 

 about 2 meters. 



The trunk is short. The branches of young trees are. slender and quite erect, 

 forming a compact conic tree; on old trees they are often much contorted, form- 

 ing broad, picturesque, flat-topped heads. The bark is 18 to 25 mm. thick, 

 irregularly divided into more or less connected broad and low ridges, which 



readily split up into close long nar- 

 row scales. The younger bark is 

 dark reddish brown, but on old 

 trunks it is grayish white. The twigs 



are stout, becoming reddish brown 

 and scaly after the leaves fall from 

 them. The leaves are dark green, 

 broadly ovate, 2 mm. long, closely 

 appressed, or somewhat spreading at 

 the pointed apex, thickened, slightly 

 glandular-pitted and longitudinally 

 furrowed on the back; on young, 

 spreading twigs they are needle- 

 shaped, stiff, about 10 mm. long. 

 The flowers, opening in February or 

 March, are very numerous and yel- 

 low, the staminate oblong, 4-sided, 3 

 mm. long, composed of 6 to 8 sta- 

 mens, the connective nearly round, 

 with 4 to 6 pollen sacs. The pistillate 

 flowers are oblong, 3 mm. long, their 

 Fig. 73. - Monterey Cypress. g^^j^g g^arp and spreading. The 



cones are in clusters, short-stalked, nearly globular or a httle longer than thick, 2.5 

 to 3.5 cm. long, hght brown, composed of 8 to 12 scales with short thick central 

 projections; seeds crowded under the fertile scales, each of which bears about 20; 

 they are angular, bright brown, about 3 mm. long. 



The wood is hard and strong, but rather brittle, close-grained, Hght brown, 

 or yellowish brown, with a satiny luster; its specific gravity is about 0.63. 

 It takes a fine poHsh and is very durable. 



This tree is much planted, for ornament, in the West, stands chpping well, 

 thus making a very desirable hedge and wind-break; it is also popular in the 

 southern States, and is well known in Europe. 



