| Monterey cypress | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The "Lone Cypress" near Monterey, California | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Cupressales |
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Genus: | Hesperocyparis |
| Species: | H. macrocarpa |
| Binomial name | |
| Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (Hartw.) Bartel | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
List
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Hesperocyparis macrocarpa also known asCupressus macrocarpa,[4][5] or theMonterey cypress is a coniferous tree, and is one of severalspecies ofcypress trees native toCalifornia.
The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on theCentral Coast of California. Due to being aglacial relict, the natural distributional range of the species during modern times is confined to two small relict populations nearCarmel,California, at Cypress Point inPebble Beach and atPoint Lobos.[6] Historically during the peak of the last ice age, Monterey cypress would have likely comprised a much larger forest that extended much further north and south.[7]
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is a medium-sizedconiferousevergreentree, which often becomes irregular and flat-topped as a result of the strong winds that are typical of itsnative area. It grows to heights of up to 40 meters (133 feet) in perfect growing conditions, and its trunk diameter can reach 2.5 meters (over 8 feet). The foliage grows in dense sprays which are bright green in color and release a deep lemony aroma when crushed. Theleaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots; seedlings up to a year old have needle-like leaves 4–8 mm long.
The seedcones are globose to oblong, 20–40 mm long, with 6–14 scales, green at first, maturing brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The pollen cones are 3–5 mm long, and release theirpollen in late winter or early spring.[8][9][10] The Latinspecific epithetmacrocarpa means "with large fruit".[11]
Because of the large trunk size some trees develop, people have assumed that individualH. macrocarpa trees may be up to 2,000 years old. However, the longest-lived report based on physical evidence is only 284 years old.[12] The renowned Californian botanistWillis Linn Jepson wrote that "the advertisement of [C. macrocarpa trees] in seaside literature as 1,000 to 2,000 years old does not ... rest upon any actual data, and probably represents a desire to minister to a popular craving for superlatives".[13] Few trees survive beyond 100 years. As a counterpoint to this, many of the earliest introductions of the species into New Zealand around 1860 still survive and the major cause of mortality of these cultivated specimens is felling.[14] One such example is the 160 year old St. Barnabas Church tree in Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand.[15]
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa was given its first scientific description by the German botanistKarl Theodor Hartweg with the nameCupressus macrocarpa.[3] Hartweg's trip to California coincided with theMexican–American War. He observed in his report, "Under these circumstances I cannot venture far away from Monterey, nor is it advisable that I should do so, as I might fall in with a party of country people, who could not be persuaded that a person would come all the way from London to look after weeds, which in their opinion are not worth picking up, but might suppose that I have some political object in view; I, therefore, confine my excursions within a few miles of the town." In July 1846 he observed the Monterey cypress trees and named them, though his paper was not received in London until 10 May of the following year.[16]
Along with other New WorldCupressus species, it has recently been transferred to the genusHesperocyparis, on genetic evidence that the New WorldCupressus (NWC) are not very closely related to the Old WorldCupressus (OWC) species.[17][18]
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is apaleoendemic, with fossilized remains discovered inDrakes Bay andRancho La Brea evidencing a much larger extent in the past.[7]
Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear DNA sequences and organismic data recover distinct lineages, with the NWC being sister toJuniperus orJuniperus and the OWC.[19] However, chloroplast sequences sometimes place both OWC and NWC with acommon ancestor, possibly due to ancienthybridization.[20] Other more obviousmorphological differences support their separation, such as the presence of 3 to 5cotyledons in NWC, as opposed to 2 in Old World species,glaucous seed coats, andmonomorphic leaves on ultimate branch segments.[21]
Analysis of phylogenetic relationships show that the species is placed within theMacrocarpa clade, which diverged from theArizonica clade, both withinHesperocyparis. The two clades are separated biogeographically by theTransverse Ranges, which forms a barrier to any north–south migration of most species within these clades.[21]
The two nativecypress forest stands are protected, withinPoint Lobos State Natural Reserve andDel Monte Forest. The natural habitat is noted for its cool, moist summers, frequently enveloping the trees inseafog.[8][9]
This species has been widely planted outside its native range, particularly along the coasts of California and Oregon. ItsEuropean distribution includesGreat Britain (including theIsle of Man and theChannel Islands),France,Ireland,Greece,Italy andPortugal.[22] InNew Zealand, plantings havenaturalized, finding conditions there more favorable than in its native range. It has also been grown experimentally as a timber crop inKenya.[8][10]
The tree has been successfully planted inSri Lanka, with a 130-year old specimen on view at theHakgala Botanical Garden inNuwara Eliya.[23]
Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is also grown inSouth Africa.[24] For example, acopse has been planted to commemorate South African infantrymen who died in the Allied cause in Italy andNorth Africa during World War 2. As in California, the Cape trees are gnarled and wind-sculpted.
Monterey Cypress has been introduced to theFalkland Islands, where it exists in a small forest atHill Cove and another atCarcass Island.
Monterey cypress has been widely cultivated away from its native range, both elsewhere along the California coast, and in other areas with similar cool summer, mild winter oceanic climates. It was very early cultivated in the United Kingdom. In 1846 Karl Hartweg sent theRoyal Horticultural Society seeds along with a report on his journeys in California.[25] It is a popular private garden and public landscape tree in California. It is so widely planted inGolden Gate Park that the silhouette of the tree is sometimes printed as a symbol of the park.[26][27]
When planted in areas with hot summers, for example in interior California away from the coastal fog belt, Monterey cypress has proved highly susceptible tocypress canker, caused by thefungusSeiridium cardinale, and rarely survives more than a few years. This disease is not a problem where summers are cool.[28]
The foliage is slightly toxic tolivestock and can cause miscarriages in cattle.[29] Sawn logs are used by many craftspeople, some boat builders and small manufacturers, as a furniture structural material and a decorative wood because of its fine colours, though it must be preserved carefully to prevent the wood from splitting. It is also a fast, hot burning, albeit sparky (therefore not suited to open fires), firewood.
InAustralia and New Zealand, Monterey cypress is most frequently grown as a windbreak tree on farms, usually in rows or shelter belts. It is also planted in New Zealand as an ornamental tree and, occasionally, as a timber tree. There, finding more favorable growing conditions than in its native range, and in the absence of many native pathogens, it often grows much larger, with trees recorded at over 40 m (130 ft) tall and 3 m (9.8 ft) in trunk diameter.[8][10] One specimen – with a trunk diameter of more than 4.6 m (15 ft) – is considered to be the largest recorded single-stemmed specimen in the world.[30] The timber of Monterey cypress was used for fence posts on New Zealand farms beforeelectric fencing became popular.
A number ofcultivars have been selected for garden use, including Goldcrest, with yellow-green, semi-juvenile foliage (with spreading scale-leaf tips) and Lutea with yellow-green foliage. Goldcrest has gained theRoyal Horticultural Society'sAward of Garden Merit[31] (confirmed 2017).[32]
Monterey cypress is one of the parents of the fast-growing cultivatedhybridLeyland cypress,Cupressus ×Leylandii, the other parent beingNootka cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis).[10]
Hesperocyparis macrocarpacultivars grown in New Zealand are:[33]
Isocupressic acid, alabdane diterpenoid, is an abortifacient component ofH. macrocarpa.[34] Monoterpenes (α- and γ-terpinene and terpinolene) are constituents of the foliage volatile oil.[35] The oil exact composition is : α-pinene (20.2%),sabinene (12.0%),p-Cymene (7.0%) andterpinen-4-ol (29.6%).[36] Unusual sesquiterpenes can be found in the foliage.[37] Longiborneol (also known as juniperol or macrocarpol) can also be isolated from Monterey cypresses.[38]
