( Plant Index )
Genus: Cupressus
Family: Cupressaceae
Names:
- Cypress
- Alerce [Spanish]
- Bách tán [Vietnamese]
- Baishù [Chinese]
- Barosh [Hebrew]
- Bianbai [Chinese]
- Bô [Vietnamese]
- Cipres [Spanish]
- Ciprés [Spanish]
- Cipresso [Italian]
- Cypres [Dutch]
- Cyprès [French]
- Haiskypärä [Finnish]
- Hiba [Japanese]
- Hinoki [Japanese]
- Itosugi [Japanese]
- Kohhong [Korean]
- Kuparis [Finnish]
- Kupferbaum [German]
- Livsceder [Danish]
- Podo [Swahili]
- Pokok Sipres [Malay]
- Saipuresu [Japanese]
- Samnamu [Korean]
- Sarv [Persian]
- Selvi [Turkish]
- Serviana [Albanian]
- Sipar [Indonesian]
- Sipres [Indonesian]
- Sipresso [Portuguese]
- Sypress [Norwegian]
- Xanh [Vietnamese]
- Zypresse [German]e naz [Persian]
- Sarw [Arabic]
- Selvi [Turkish]
- Servi [Turkish]
- Shajarat al-sarw [Arabic]
- Síopras [Irish]
- Sipres [Afrikaans/Indonesian]
- Sipreis [Scottish Gaelic]
- Sredizemnomorski kiparis [Bulgarian]
- Sypress [Norwegian]
- Sypressi [Finnish]
- Ton sai pret [Thai]
- Ton son sam bai [Thai]
- Välimerenkypressi [Finnish]
- Vednozelena cipresa [Slovenian]
- Xiprer [Catalan]
- Zypresse [German]
 |
| "Cypress Tree," posted by Şãღîã Şคlēē๓. |
Distribution: Global
Physical Description
Cypress is a genus of coniferous trees known for constantly weeping sap.
Wood Properties: Durable, Fragrant, Fumigant.
Symbolism
Immortality
Like most durable evergreens, the cypress is associated with longevity, endurance, and immortality. To the Phoenician tree of life, the Greeks associated the tree with many deities, including Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite. It is referenced biblically for its evergreen nature, which signifies eternal beauty/health. Because of its long-lasting wood and rich fragrance, it was commonly used in the roofing of temples.
Death/Mourning
The association with Hades is apt. The god of the underworld garlanded his head with cypress, a symbol of death, mourning, grief, and despair. Named for a boy beloved of Apollo, Cyparissus, whose closest friend and playmate was a stag. On accidentally striking his friend with a javelin and slaying him, the boy pleaded with the gods that he might mourn forever.* Apollo, taking pity on him, transformed him into a cypress tree, constantly weeping sap from its trunk. Similarly, Aphrodite adorned her head with a cypress wreath when she mourned Adonis in the same manner as the cypress-crowned muse of tragedy, Melpomene. In Athens, households were garlanded with its boughs following a death. Further, the coffins of Egyptians were made of cypress wood.
The underworld symbolism is believed to stem partly from the tree not growing back if trimmed too far (hence why they can be sculpted in the classic Mediterranean style).
*In some accounts, the god Silvanus killed the stag and turned Cyparissus into a tree. In that tradition, Silvanus carries a bough in memoriam.
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| Cyparissus (c.1625) by Jacopo Vignali. |
Hunting
In addition to the hunting associations found in the different versions of the Cyparissus myth, it is also regarded as a tree of Artemis.
Virtue
Referenced biblically for its shape to signify moral uprightness.
The wood of Noah’s Ark
A popular English interpretation of the “gopher wood” Noah used to build the Ark was cypress (barosh) wood.
Islamic Miracle
According to an Islamic tradition, a cypress by the tomb of Cyrus the Great would weep blood every week during Friday prayer and, as such, was venerated.
Fire
According to Skinner, the cone-shaped tree resembled flame in Asia, which is why it was planted outside Zoroastrian fire temples. Supposedly, Zoroaster lived in the shadow of a cypress tree. On the island of Cyprus (yes, named for the tree), it was worshiped as a symbol of Ceres/Demeter, who sealed Vulkan inside the crater of the volcano Etna with a cypress tree.
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| Toscana, Tuscan Cypress. Own work -- Io.tangelini. |
Culture
Funerary
For all the symbolism and myth associated with cypress in funerary practice, there is a convenient reason cypress trees were chosen to grow in graveyards: the roots dig straight down and expand out only slightly. The roots of cypress trees do not disturb graves.
Magic
The tree is associated with both Artemis/Diana and with Hecate, the goddess of magic, crossroads, and the underworld (among other things). Both goddesses are associated with magic in modern religious and occult practice.
Compiler Notes
- The cypress has strong associations with the stag or hart. The connection between the tree and animal might be further integrated, with the two serving as each other’s iconographic proxies or further as functional synonyms.
- “Straight as a cypress” or similar might be used as a common cultural simile about honesty. Also, “cypress-straight” or “right as a cypress.”
- As a symbol of death, mourning, and funerary rites, cypress wood seems like an excellent necromantic wand-wood. Paired with its affiliation with Hecate and her domain of the crossroads, this wood is well-suited to conducting and directing the spirits of the dead (or other afterworld denizens).
- Cypress is a hunter’s emblem through the namesake myth and its affiliation with Artemis/Diana. This makes in an effective wooden medium for defixions. Paired with the necromantic qualities previously described, it seems a good wand wood for general malefic action.
- On the other hand, due to its favorable use in temple roofs, it might effectively protect against necromancy or other malefic magic. This pairs well with the cypress, known as “gopher wood,” which protects one from the flood.
- “Barosh” would make for a good vox magica for wards, calling upon the previous observation.
- Cypress is probably just a good wand wood, as its particular connotations of immortality reinforce a connection to the cosmic principles that Magicians must navigate.
- Identified as “resembling fire” in the Near East and with Vulkan’s imprisonment in Mt. Etna, the tree is also good wood for conducting fire magic in all its dimensions. The tree itself is an emblem of the eternal, and in the shape of fire invokes the cosmic principle from which fire flows.
- The above extends beyond the fuse as a wand wood, but can characterize depictions of underworld figures and deities. Hades might wear a smouldering wreath of cypress if one wishes to recharacterize the Greek hades closer to fiery underworld depictions. Sylvanus may wear a laurel of cypress that burns his brown in penance for the killing of Cyparissus’s stag friend.
- Due to cypress’s non-distubance of the dead via its roots, it might be the preferred medium or reagent for a sacralized form of necromantic divination, such as one conducted by a front-facing, publicly recognized temple. The non-distubance of the dead via the roots suggests deference and respect, so such a ritual would entail a formalized, respectful, culturally-sanctioned engagement with the wisdom of the deceased. This might be useful when a king is consulting the spirits of his ancestors when facing an intractable problem, or perhaps an annual augury.
- The non-disturbing quality of the roots might make cypress a good tree for sealing a contentious spirit so that the spirit does not disturb the soil about his place of imprisonment.
- The sealing of Vulkan in Mount Etna under a cypress suggests the spirit of industrious inventiveness is dangerous and must be controlled to prevent catastrophe. Cypress may then act as a regulating wood for the dangerously inventive spirit. Perhaps a clever but foolish young magician who has precipitated disaster with his brilliant but short-sighted magical cunning may be gifted a staff or wand of cypress to mitigate his foolish tendencies? There’s a lot that can be done with this.
Image Refs
[Img 01 - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/372250725425770350/ ]
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Species: Cupressus sempervirens
Names:
- Mediterranean Cypress
- Akdeniz Servisi [Turkish]
- Black Cypress
- Chiparos [Greek]
- Churchyard Cypress
- Ciprés Común [Spanish]
- Ciprés Mediterráneo [Spanish]
- Cipresso Comune [Italian]
- Cipresso Mediterraneo [Italian]
- Common Cypress
- Cyprès De Provence [French]
- Cyprès Toujours Vert [French]
- European Cypress
- Hoàng Đàn [Vietnamese]
- Italian Cypress
- Kyparissi [Greek]
- Mediterranean Cypress
- Mediterrane Zypresse [German]
- Mittelmeer-Zypresse [German]
- Pencil Pine
- Persian Cypress
- Pokok Sipres Mediterranean [Malay]
- Roman Cypress
- Sarv-e Shirazi [Persian]
- Selvi [Turkish]
- Sempreverde [Italian]
- Servi Ağacı [Turkish]
- Serwi [Arabic]
- Sibres [Maltese]
- Siprés Mediterania [Indonesian]
- Southern Cypress
- Tuscan Cypress
- Viecīgais Cipresis [Latvian]
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| Cupressus sempervirens fastigiate cultivated form in Hawaii, USGS photo. |
Distribution:
- Asia, West: Cyprus, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey
- Europe, Southern: Greece (including Crete)
Physical Description
Mediterranea cypress is a long-lived, medium-sized tree that grows to 35m (115ft) tall. The oldest known specimen found in Iran is the Sarv-e-Abarkooh (“Cypress of Abarkuh”) or “the Zoroastrian Sarv,” estimated to be 4,000 years old. This specimen is 25m (82ft) in height, with a trunk circumference of 11.5m (38ft).
Wood Properties: Durable, Fragrant, Fumigant.
 |
| Cypress of Abarkuh, Own work, TruthBeethoven. |
Symbolism
Funerary
Principle cemetery tree of Europe and the Muslim world.
Culture
Landscaping
Played a central role in all the famous historical gardens of Persia.
Most cultivated cypresses are selected with a fastigiate (upward-pointing/tapering) crown and erect branches, looking something like an exclamation mark or, as Skinner relayed as an observation of the orient, a flame. This shape is heavily associated with the Mediterranean aesthetic, especially in Tuscany.
Temple Portals
The wood was used for the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome.
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| The doors of St. Peter's Basilica. |
Distilling
Cypress staves were used to hold mash ferments before being replaced with stainless steel.
Cosmetics
Used for its fragrance, as well as its astringent and firming qualities.
Instruments
Traditional wood of Italian harpsichords.
Medical
We are not a medical website; do not take health advice from us.
This plant has been attributed the following medicinal properties:
- Anti-seborrheic (treats skin issues)
- Anti-dandruff
- Anti-aging
Compiler Notes
- Something could be made of the purported medical properties and the tree’s symbolic associations.
- An ancient cypress that is the object of veneration would make an excellent landmark in any fantasy setting.
Image Refs
[Img 04 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cupressus_sempervirens_Stricta.jpg ]
[Img 05 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cypress_of_Abarqu.JPG ]
[Img 06 - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/171699804518502016/ ]
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Species: Cupressus atlantica
Names:
- Moroccan Cypress
- Aaders [Berber]
- Arar [Arabic]
- Atlas Cedar
- Atlas Cypress
- Cyprès De L'Atlas [French]
- Goa Cedar
- Goa Cypress
- Idil [Berber]
- Moroccan Cypress
- Sarw Al Atlas [Arabic]
- Serw Al Atlas [Arabic]
- Zypresse des Atlas [German]
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| Cupressus atlantica, Own work, MPF. |
Distribution:
- Africa, Northern: Morocco (High Atlas Mountains)
Physical Description
Moroccan cypress leaves are bluer than Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress), with a white resin spot on each leaf.
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
Image Refs
[Img 07 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cupressus_atlantica0.jpg ]
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Species: Cupressus cashmeriana
Names:
- Bhutan Cypress
- Bhutanese Weeping Cypress
- Bsam-Lding [Dzongkha]
- Cashmere Cypress
- Cypress Du Bhoutan [French]
- Deodar [Hindi/Urdu]
- Devadāru [Sanskrit]
- Himalayan Cypress
- Kashmir Cypress
- Khangma [Dzongkha]
- Shukpa [Tibetan]
- Shulim [Tibetan]
- Tsenden [Dzongkha]
- Tshenden [Bhutanese]
- Weeping Cypress
- Weeping Himalayan Cypress
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| Cupressus cashmeriana, Sochi, Russia. Own work, Materialscientist. |
Distribution:
- Asia, South: India (East Himalaya)
Physical Description
Bhutan cypress is a medium-sized to large tree growing 20-45m (66-148ft) tall, with a trunk growing up to 3m (10ft) in diameter. Unverified claims of some trees reaching 95m (312ft) in height.
Culture
The national tree of Bhutan is widely planted around Buddhist Vihāra* monasteries and temples.
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
- Explore Vihāra monasteries for visual inspiration, such as Cave 12 at Ellora and the Ajanta caves. Some Vihāras were not monasteries, but rest stops for travelers, including pilgrims, hunters, and hobbyists.
- Particularly large weeping cypresses would make great points of reference for travelers, as the rule of thumb would be that such usually indicated the presence of a Vihara.
- As a “weeping” cypress, someone employing more Western iconographic sensibilities might impose a narrow mourning/funerary meaning on this plant.
Image Refs
[Img 08 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CupressusCashmerianaSochi.JPG ]
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Species: Cupressus duclouxiana
Names:
- Chinese Cypress
- Bhutan Weeping Cypress
- Dingri Shing [Tibetan]
- Ducloux Cypress
- Ducloux Servisi [Turkish]
- Gao Shan Bai [Mandarin]
- Huashan Bai [Mandarin]
- Pin-Cha [Chinese]
- Tibet Bai [Mandarin]
- Tibetan Cypress
- Weeping Cypress
- Xiangya Bai [Mandarin]
- Xizhang Bai [Chinese]
- Yunnan Bai [Mandarin]
- Yunnan Cypress
- Yunnan Servisi [Turkish]
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| Cupressus duclouxiana, from naturix-seeds.com. |
Distribution:
- Asia, East: China (China South-Central)
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
- As a “weeping” cypress, someone employing more Western iconographic sensibilities might impose a narrow mourning/funerary meaning on this plant.
Image Refs
[Img 09 - https://www.naturix-seeds.com/product-page/cupressus-duclouxiana ]
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Species: Cupressus dupreziana
Names:
- Saharan Cypress
- Algerian Cypress
- Awal [Tamahaq/Tuareg]
- Cyprès De Duprez [French]
- Cyprès Du Tassili [French]
- Desert Cypress
- Idil [Berber]
- Tarout [Arabic/Tamahaq]
- Tassili Cypress
- Taza [Tamahaq/Tuareg]
- Zypresse von Tassili [German]
 |
| Cupressus dupreziana, treatenedconifers.rbge.org.uk. |
Distribution:
- Africa, Northern: Algeria (Tassili n’ajjer mountains in the central Sahara, southeast Algeria)
Physical Description
Saharan cypress is a rare tree from a unique population isolated in the Sahara Desert. The tallest of the remaining trees is 22m (72ft) tall; the majority are believed to be over 2000 years old. Foliage is bluer than Cupressus sempervirens, with a white resin spot on each leaf.
This cypress is unique in the family in its reproductive strategy, in which the genetic material of the seeds comes entirely from the pollen (male apomixis).
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| Cupressus dupreziana, Gruban at Flickr. |
Culture
Named from the Tamashek word “tarout,” which was a butcher’s term for the windpipe and lungs of a grazing animal, to which the observers thought the tree resembled.
Only 233 trees of this species are left, and each of them is named individually in Tamashek, with titles like “The One by the Flat Stones.” The largest is named Tin-Balalan and is 22m (72ft) tall and 1.26m (4.1ft) in diameter.
They are still used as shelter by local nomads, and the trees are subject to damage from the nomads' herd animals. Branches and roots are still occasionally (illegally) used for firewood.
Some of these trees have been cultivated in southern Europe from seeds and grown as ornamentals/ex-situ genetic conservation.
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| A tree in habitat iNaturalist observation 7367127 [András Zboray, 2011.11.23] |
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name, color, and unique distribution.
- Under the doctrine of signatures, wood, bark, or other plant material would be suitable for respiratory health if consumed or inhaled as aroma. The age of these trees might also be passed on sympathetically in this way.
- Excellent inspiration for a cypress grove, where each tree is named and attributed to an individual animus.
Image Refs
[Img 10 - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/82190761925497618/ ]
[Img 11 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_dupreziana#/media/File:Cupressus_dupreziana1.jpg ]
[Img 12 - https://www.conifers.org/cu/Cupressus_dupreziana.php ]
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Species: Cupressus majestica (syn. Cupressus gigantea)
Names:
- Tibetan Cypress
- Bhairopokhari Cypress
- Bhote Dhupi [Nepali]
- Bhutan Cypress
- Bhutanese Weeping Cypress
- Gao Shan Bai [Mandarin]
- Giant Asian Cypress
- Giant Cypress
- Himalayan Cypress
- Himalayan Giant Cypress
- Krung [Tibetan]
- Majestic Cypress
- Shukpa [Tibetan]
- Tibetan Giant Cypress
- Tsenden [Dzongkha/Tibetan]
- Weeping Cypress
- Xiangya Bai [Mandarin]
- Xizhang Bai [Chinese]
 |
| Cupressus gigantea, Paco Garin. |
Distribution:
- Asia, East: China (China South-Central)
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Culture
The largest Cupressus gigantea is an ancient ~2,600-year-old specimen called the King Cypress, the Great Cypress, Bóshù wáng, and “the God of Trees.” It is 50m (164ft) high and 5.8m (19ft) in diameter.
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| Bóshù wáng, Own work, Kosi Gramatikoff. |
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
- An absolutely massive, ancient cypress tree is a useful landmark in any fantasy story.
- If one takes “the God of Trees” title seriously, one could build a whole religious framework around such an ancient tree. While this lends itself to a temple and all the associated fixings, it, more importantly, provides the society around it with a tangible axis mundi. Characters native to this region might orient their position relative to the tree. This might cause clashes with a more secular authority, such as an Imperial governor, who, for soft-power reasons, needs the people to orient themselves to his seat of power in the provincial capital.
Image Refs
[Img 13 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/helicongus/30211338287 ]
[Img 14 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:King_Cypress_Tree.jpg ]
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Species: Cupressus pendula (syn. Cupressus funebris)
Names:
- Chinese Weeping Cypress
- Bai Mu [Mandarin]
- Bhutan Weeping Cypress
- Chinese Mourning Cypress
- Chinese Weeping Cypress
- Cyprès Funèbre [French]
- Cyprès Pleureur [French]
- Funeral Cypress
- Hänge-Zypresse [German]
- Hängezypresse [German]
- Hiba [Japanese]
- Mourning Cypress
- Po [Chinese]
- Pye-Sa-Chin [Burmese]
- Sad Cypress
- Saru [Vietnamese/Japanese]
- Trauer-Zypresse [German]
- Weeping Chinese Cypress
- Weeping Cypress
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| Cupressus funebris, Own work, Melburnian. |
Distribution:
- Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast)
Physical Description
Chinese weeping cypress is a medium-sized tree, growing 20-35m (66-115ft) tall, with the trunk growing up to 2m (6.5ft) in diameter.
Culture
Commonly planted around monasteries and temples.
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
Image Refs
[Img 15 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cupressus_funebris_02.jpg ]
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Species: Cupressus torulosa
Names:
- Himalayan Cypress
- Bhutan Cypress
- Cyprès De L'Himalaya [French]
- Deodar [Hindi/Urdu]
- Deodar Cypress
- Devadāru [Sanskrit]
- Devi Diyar [Hindi]
- Galla [Nepali]
- Himalayan Cypress
- Himalayan Twisted Cypress
- Kashmiri Cypress
- Kleiner Himalaja-Zypresse [German]
- Kletha [Kashmiri]
- Nepalese Cypress
- Raisalla [Nepali]
- Saro [Nepali]
- Shujin Bai [Chinese]
- Shukpa [Tibetan]
- Surai [Nepali/Hindi]
- Telaun [Nepali]
- Thuja [Hindi]
- Tortuous Cypress
- Tsandan [Tibetan]
- Twisted Cypress
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| Cupressus torulosa, Photo by Owen Johnson. |
Distribution:
- Asia, South: Nepal, Pakistan
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Physical Description
Himalayan cypress is a medium to extremely large tree, often growing up to 45m (150ft) in height. Possibly the second-tallest tree species in the world if the 102.3m (336ft) specimen found is Cupressus torulosa instead of Cupressus gigantea (as some have claimed).
Compiler Notes
- Retained for name and distribution.
- The size of these trees is absurd, do something with that in relation to the immortality iconography.
Image Refs
[Img 16 - https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cupressus/cupressus-torulosa/ ]
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See Also:
Prestigious Plants
- Plants
- Flowers
- Trees
- Ferns
- Moss and Lichen [Pending]
- Fungi [Pending]
- Cladistic Index
- Herbal Medicine [Pending]
- Resin, Incense, Balsam, and Lacquer [Pending]
- Cedar
- Ephedra
- Fir
- Ginkgo
- Juniper
- Larch
- Pine
- Spruce
- Yew
* * * * * * *
Sources:
-Drury, N. (2004). The dictionary of the esoteric: 3000 entries on the mystical and occult traditions. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
-Drury, N. (2005). The Watkins Dictionary of Magic: 3000 entries on the magical traditions. Watkins.
-Greenaway, Kate. Language of Flowers. George Routleage and Sons.
-Roux, Jessica. Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2020.
-Skinner, Charles M. “Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants : In All Ages and in All Climes : Skinner, Charles M. (Charles Montgomery), 1852-1907 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott Co., 1 Jan. 1970, https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsoffl00skin.
-Tresidder, J. (2008). The Watkins Dictionary of Symbols. Watkins.
( https://powo.science.kew.org/ )
( https://www.secretflowerlanguage.com/ ) — Defunct
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_sempervirens )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_atlantica )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_cashmeriana )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_duclouxiana )
( https://www.conifers.org/cu/Cupressus_dupreziana.php )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_dupreziana )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_funebris )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_gigantea )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_torulosa )
Name assistance provided by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
