Cupressus benthamii

Endl. 1847

Common Names

Mexican cypress, cedar of Goa, cedro blanco, cedro blanco del desierto, cedro, ciprés (Farjon (2005)).

Taxonomic Notes

Syn: C. lusitanica var. benthamii (Endl.) Carrière 1867; C. lusitanica ssp. benthamii (Endl.) Franco 1945; C. thurifera sensu Schltdl. 1838 non Kunth 1817.

See the "Taxonomic notes" section of Cupressus for a discussion of the relationship between this and other, closely related Cupressus taxa in northwest Mexico and the adjacent Southwest U.S. Briefly, there is considerable doubt whether the populations of Cupressus scattered from Sonora to Chiapas have been studied well enough to conclude that all can be assigned to the existing described species. Farjon (1993) analysed the problem and concluded that all specimens from south of about 22° latitude can be assigned to one of two taxa, which he called C. lusitanica var. lusitanica and C. lusitanica var. benthamii, and which I here treat as C. lusitanica and C. benthamii. He distinguishes the two taxa according to whether their foliage sprays are flattened or not, and whether the crown is broad or pyramidal (the former state being lusitanica, and the latter benthamii). An analysis by Little (2006) also found differences between the two taxa on the basis of several different molecular genetic lines of evidence; however, the differences were very small.

Description

A tree attaining 25-30 m in height. Crown pyramidal. Bark thick, reddish-brown, with longitudinal fissures. Shoots quadrangular, pendulous, not in a single plane. Foliage blue-green, four-ranked, ovate, closely pressed, usually with long, pointed apex. Cones globose, ca. 12 mm across, blue-green in the juvenile stage, turning dark brown when they ripen, they open and later fall, composed of 6-8 scales with a central strong, reflexed umbo, erect on the upper scales. Seeds about 75 to a cone, brown, with resin glands, about 4 mm long together with a narrow wing (Vidakovic 1991).

Range

Mexico: Chiapas, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala?, Veracruz, Yucatan? Occurs at elevations of 1500-3990 m. Its distribution is really not well known; it appears to be generally sympatric with Cupressus lusitanica, but to have a more restricted distribution (Farjon 2005).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Citations

Endlicher. 1847. Synopsis Coniferarum, p. 59 (as Cupressus benthami).

Farjon, Aljos. 1993. Nomenclature of the Mexican cypress or "cedar of Goa", Cupressus lusitanica Mill. (Cupressaceae). Taxon 42: 81-84.