Graveyard cypress trees - Cupressus sempervirens

 By for the most common tree species in European cemeteries is the Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens).  As a result it comes as no surprise that one of this tree species common names is "graveyard cypress".  The connection between these tall upright Cypress trees (fastigiate crown) and graveyards is not a new.  For several thousand years the Mediterranean cypress has been a symbol of mourning in the classical antiquity (Greece and Rome) and more recently in the Muslim world and in Europe.  There are several factors that possibly contributed to this.  One being the trees longevity, with it not being uncommon for the tree to live for 1,000 years.  Another factor being the tall narrow shape as if the tree were pointing heavenward or as if it were standing guard over the tombs of the departed.  The images in this post are from a cemetery in Spain.

Sculptured Cypress Trees - Retiro Park

In the "El Parterre" section of the "Parque del Buen Retiro" in Madrid Spain there are a series of sculptured trees that look like something out of a Dr. Sues book. I was not sure what species of tree they were but upon closer examination I found them to be Mediterranean Cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens). This tree species is most often found with its columnar form but as you can see from these images it can be shapped into almost any form.
The "Parterre" section of the park is quite close to the Prado museum and has a classic French garden type layout with several other notable tree species. In the image below the large tree on the right, tht is a bit brown in color, is a Montezuma Cypress tree (Taxodium mucronatum). It is the most famous tree in the Retiro park and is believed to be close to 400 years old. The other two evergreen type trees to the left are are either Atlas or Himalayan Cedar trees.

Not to far from this part of the park is a crystal palace with a large pond that is the home to several Baldcypress trees (Taxodium distichum).

Bald Cypress in the Retiro Park of Madrid

Located in a large pond in the "Retiro" park in Madrid, Spain are several fine specimens of Bald Cypress trees (Taxodium distichum), also called Swamp Cypress or Baldcypress. These trees are growing in a man made pond in front of a crystal palace that was built in 1887 to house an exposition of plants from the Philipines. It was patturned after the Crystal Palace that was built in London in 1851.

Today the crystal palace stands empty execpt for an occasional exposition of art etc. The pond in front of the palace with its Swamp Cypress trees is a favorite of turists and photographers. A pathway winds around the prerimeter of the pond and at one point even goes through a cave from where you can look out through the water fall and observe several of the trees.

Bald Cypress trees have a trunk that is quite wide at the base as you can see in the image below. These trees also turn a bright golden color in the fall and are a very pretty sight to behold.
The cones of the Bald Cypress are similar in shape to those of the Common Cypress despite the fact that they belong to different genus.


Not too far from the "Palacio de Cristal" there is another tree from same tree family (genus) that is the oldest and most impressive tree in the park. It is a Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) and goes by the name "Ahuehuete del Parterre".

Port Orford Cedar - Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

The Port Orford "Cedar" tree (species - Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is a coniferous evergreen tree native to Northern California and Southern Oregon. In the picture above it is the cypress looking tree in the center. Other common names for this tree include Lawson cypress, Oregon Cedar, White Cedar and Ginger Pine. This tree is not realy a true cedar but rather belongs to one of the species families that are called by the name Cypress.
The image above is of the female "flower" or cone of the Port Orford Cedar and the image below is the male flower.
You can see from the image below that the male and female flowers grow on the same branch but are on distinct branchlets. The leaves are scale like.
The seeds (in my hand at the top of the image below) are small and have a sort of "flying saurcer" shape.

"Today nearly all harvested Port-Orford-cedar is exported to Japan. Port-Orford-cedar is very similar to hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) wood, which is used in traditional Japanese house and temple construction. On federal timber sales, Japanese trading companies sometimes purchase stumpage on bid after examining individual trees. The wood is regarded so highly as a hinoki substitute that trees are felled with great care; sometimes cables are used to control the fall." from http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/chalaw/all.html

"The wood is light and durable, and particularly highly valued in east Asia, with large amounts being exported to Japan where it is in high demand for making coffins. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts". - The Rampant Gardener