Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Common names
Lawson’s cypress
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Gymnosperms
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Large tree that can reach 50 m. Has narrow pyramidal shape and usually has branches present near the ground and drooping towards the apex. Bark thick, fibrous and reddish-brown. Leaves are very small, dark green and appressed on the stems with the point free. Male cones are 2–5 mm long and red with dark blue spots. Female cones are 6–9 mm diameter and blue when young, ageing to brown and opening to 8 distinct scales. Seeds 2–4 per scale, winged.
Similar taxa
Chamaecyparius is similar to Cupressus, but can be separated by the flattened branches. Thuja also has flattened branches but cones (of both sexes) are quite different. There are a number of species of Chamaecypariums cultivated in New Zealand but the brightly coloured male cones distinguish C. lawsoniana.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Cupressaceae
Ecology
Year naturalised
1940
Origin
California, Oregon, N. America
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduces by seed. Up to 32 seeds per female cone. Estimate that there could be as many as 10,000 cones per mature tree.
Other information
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CHALAW