FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS OF ARIZONA 67 



near the summit of Mount Graham seems to be inter- 

 mediate, the bark being thick and spongy as in A. arizonica, but light 

 gray in color. 



5. CUPRESSUS. 11 Cypress 



Trees; leaves all alike, small, scalelike, closely imbricate and ap- 

 pressed to the branchlets, usually with a pit on the back containing a 

 resin gland; cones nearly globular, with woody scales that separate 

 at maturity, persistent on the branches several years, long after the 

 seeds have fallen; seeds numerous under each scale, winged. 



The moderately soft, light, straight -grained wood is suitable for 

 manufacture of sashes, doors, blinds, etc. The timber is rarely if ever 

 milled, however, because the stands are of limited extent and usually 

 rather inaccessible. Locally, cypress is cut for small rough construc- 

 tion and for making posts, although there is some question as to the 

 durability of the wood. The Arizona cypress is frequently cultivated 

 as an ornamental and is very attractive, especially in the young stage 

 while the foliage is covered with a heavy bloom. Individuals differ 

 greatly in symmetry of growth, and there is much opportunity for 

 selection of desirable specimens for planting. It is reported that the 

 French Government has found Arizona cypress useful for reclaiming 

 barren land in France and northern Africa. 



Key to the species 



1. Outer bark persistent except in saplings, rough 1. C. arizonica. 



1. Outer bark deciduous except on the trunks of very old trees, leaving exposed 

 the smooth, dark purplish-red inner bark 2. C. glabra. 



1. Cupressus arizonica Greene, Torrey Bot. Club Bui. 9: 64. 1882. 



Cupressus arizonica var. bonita Lemmon, TYest-Amer. Cone- 

 Bearers ed. 3, 76. 1895. 



Mountains of Greenlee, Graham, Cochise, and Pima Counties, 

 3,500 to 7,200 feet, type from near Clifton, Greenlee County (Greene). 

 Southwestern New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico. 



Arizona cypress. The trees attain a height of 21 m. (70 feet) and 

 a stem diameter of 1.2 m. (4 feet), but such large specimens are rarely 

 seen where the stands are readily accessible. The trunk branches from 

 near the ground or is well developed, the crown is narrowly pyramidal 

 or broad and flat. The outer bark is thin, dark brownish gray, 

 longitudinally fissured and fibrous, or occasionally checkered some- 

 what as in Juniperus pachyphloea (pi. 11). 



2. Cupressus glabra Sudworth, Amer. Forestry 16: SS. 1910. 

 Upper Oak Creek Canyon (Coconino County), and abundant along 



the Mogollon Escarpment and in the Mazatzal Mountains (north- 

 western Gila and northeastern Maricopa Counties), 3,500 to at least 

 5.000 feet, reported by Sudworth to occur also in the Santa Catalina 

 and Santa Rita Mountains (Pima County), type collected by Tourney 

 at Natural Bridge, Gila County. Known only from Arizona. 



Smooth cypress. Apparently the only satisfactory character for 

 distinguishing this form from C. arizonica is the habit of shedding the 

 outer bark of the trunk until the tree has reached a verv advanced 



11 Reference: Sudworth, George B. the cypress and juniper trees ok the rocky mountain 



REGION. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 207. 1915. 



