{{Short description|Species of conifer}} {{Speciesbox | image = Εθνικός Δρυμός Σαμαριάς.jpg | image_caption = Native tree at Lefka Ori, Crete | image2 = Cyprès.jpg | image2_caption = Foliage and cone | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="IUCN">{{cite journal | title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | journal=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | date=2011-07-15 | url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/32518/2821211 | access-date=2025-07-29 | page=}}</ref> | genus = Cupressus | species = sempervirens | authority = L. | range_map = Cupressus sempervirens range.svg | range_map_caption = Green: probable natural range in the Mediterranean Basin <br /> Orange: range including human introductions <br /> Red (small areas): Residual natural stands }}
'''''Cupressus sempervirens''''', the '''Mediterranean cypress'''<ref name="IUCN"/> (also known as '''Italian cypress''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> '''Tuscan cypress''', or '''Persian cypress'''), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. It is well-adapted to the environmental conditions that it lives in due to its ability to survive in both acidic and alkaline soils and withstand drought.<ref name=EFSA>{{Cite journal |date=March 2014 |title=Supporting EFSA assessment of the EU environmental suitability for exotic forestry pests: Final Report |journal=EFSA Supporting Publications |volume=11 |issue=3 |doi=10.2903/sp.efsa.2014.en-434 |issn=2397-8325|doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Cupressus sempervirens'' is important in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture. In Iran it is both a sacred tree and a metaphor for "the graceful figure of the beloved".<ref name="Aʿlam-2020">{{Citation |last=Aʿlam |first=Hūšang |title=CYPRESS |date=2020-08-30 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/cypress-COM_7902 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica Online |access-date=2023-10-30 |publisher=Brill |language=en}}</ref>
==Description== ''Cupressus sempervirens'' is a medium-sized coniferous evergreen tree growing up to 35 m (115 ft) tall, with a conic crown with level branches and variably loosely hanging branchlets.<ref>See also Uses section for the differing cultivated variants</ref> It is very long-lived, with some trees reported to be over 1,000 years old.<ref name="EU-Trees4F">{{Cite journal |last1=Mauri |first1=Achille |last2=Girardello |first2=Marco |last3=Strona |first3=Giovanni |last4=Beck |first4=Pieter S. A. |last5=Forzieri |first5=Giovanni |last6=Caudullo |first6=Giovanni |last7=Manca |first7=Federica |last8=Cescatti |first8=Alessandro |date=2022-02-03 |title=EU-Trees4F, a dataset on the future distribution of European tree species |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01128-5 |journal=Scientific Data |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=37 |doi=10.1038/s41597-022-01128-5 |pmid=35115529 |pmc=8813948 |bibcode=2022NatSD...9...37M |issn=2052-4463}}</ref>
''Cupressis sempervirens'' produces lateral shoots, or branches, which often grow upwards towards a light source.<ref name="Weick-Aamir-Reichart">{{Cite journal |last1=Weick |first1=Cynthia Wagner |last2=Aamir |first2=Naela |last3=Reichart |first3=Jayme |date=June 2023 |title=The Ethnobotanical Evolution of the Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) |journal=Economic Botany |language=en |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=203–221 |doi=10.1007/s12231-023-09570-1 |issn=0013-0001 |s2cid=257968346 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023EcBot..77..203W }}</ref> The foliage grows in dense, dark green sprays. The leaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots. The seed cones are ovoid or oblong and 25–40 mm long. The cones have 10–14 scales, which are green at first and mature to brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The male cones are 3–5 mm long and release highly allergenic pollen in late winter. The cones of ''C. sempervirens'' can withstand years of being sealed and are known to perform serotiny.<ref name=conifers>{{Cite web |title=Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress) description |url=https://www.conifers.org/cu/Cupressus_sempervirens.php |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=www.conifers.org}}</ref> The tree is moderately susceptible to cypress canker, caused by the fungus ''Seiridium cardinale'', and can suffer extensive dieback where this disease is common. The species name ''sempervirens'' comes from the Latin for 'evergreen'.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress) |last=Rojas-Sandova |first=J |date=2022-01-07 |doi=10.1079/cabicompendium.17105 |language=en|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Uses== ''C. sempervirens'' has been widely cultivated as an ornamental tree for millennia outside of its native range, mainly throughout the Mediterranean region and in other areas with similar hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, including California, southwest South Africa, and southern Australia. It can also be grown successfully in areas with cooler, moister summers, such as the British Isles, New Zealand, and the Pacific Northwest. It is also planted in Florida and parts of the coastal southern United States as an ornamental tree. In some areas, particularly the United States, it is known as "Italian" or "Tuscan cypress". Within its native range, ''C. sempervirens'' has historically been planted in gardens and cemeteries and used as a windbreak alongside roads.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Caudullo |first1=G |last2=de Rigo |first2=D. |date=2016 |title=Cupressus sempervirens in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats |url=https://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/media/atlas/Cupressus_sempervirens.pdf |website=European Atlas of Forest Tree Species}}</ref> The tree can also prevent damage to land caused by violent weather.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Orhan |first1=Ilkay Erdogan |title=Potential of Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean Cypress) in Health |date=2015 |journal=The Mediterranean Diet |pages=639–647 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-407849-9.00057-9 |pmc=7149725 |isbn=978-0-12-407849-9 |last2=Tumen |first2=Ibrahim}}</ref>
[[Image:Cypress of Abarqu.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The Cypress of Abarkuh, Iran]] The vast majority of the trees in cultivation are selected cultivars with a fastigiate crown, with erect branches forming a narrow to very narrow crown often less than a tenth as wide as the tree is tall. The dark green "exclamation mark" shape of these trees is a highly characteristic signature of Mediterranean landscapes.<ref>{{cite book | last=Johnson | first=Hugh | title=The International Book of Trees | publisher=Mitchell Beazley | publication-place=London | date=1973 | isbn=0-85533-015-5 | pages=94–96}}</ref>
A 2009 investigation discovered two new species of fungi on the tree, including ''Phaeobotryon cupressi.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abdollahzadeh |first=J. |last2=Mohammadi Goltapeh |first2=E. |last3=Javadi |first3=A. |last4=Shams-Bakhsh |first4=M. |last5=Zare |first5=R. |last6=Phillips |first6=A. J. L. |date=2009 |title=Barriopsis iraniana and Phaeobotryon cupressi: two new species of the Botryosphaeriaceae from trees in Iran |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2802722/ |journal=Persoonia |volume=23 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.3767/003158509X467552 |issn=1878-9080 |pmc=2802722 |pmid=20198156}}</ref>
===Fire resistance=== Unlike many ''Cupressus'' species, ''C. sempervirens'' has low resin content, and does not readily catch or spread fire.<ref>Neyişçi, Τ., and M. Intini. 2006. Τhe use of cypress barriers for limiting fires in Mediterranean countries. In proceedings of the “Il cipresso e gli incendi” workshop, 14-16 June 2006, Valencia, Spain. Interreg IIIB MEDOCC, Project MedCypre. Florence, Italy: 3-18.</ref> In July 2012, a forest fire lasting five days burned 20,000 hectares of forest in the Valencian village of Andilla. However, a group of 946 cypress trees about 22 years old was virtually unharmed, with only 12 cypresses being burnt. The Andilla cypresses had been planted by the CypFire European project to study various aspects of the cypresses, including fire resistance.<ref>{{cite web | last=Pellisser | first=Nel·lo | title=«El "sistema Ciprés" de barreras cortafuegos» y «Monumental Trees and Mature Forests Threatened in The Mediterranean Landscapes» | website=Revista Mètode | date=2014-07-23 | url=https://metode.es/revistas-metode/llibres-revistes-revistes/el-sistema-cipres-de-barreras-cortafuegos-y-monumental-trees-and-mature-forests-threatened-in-the-mediterranean-landscapes.html | language=es | access-date=2025-07-29}}</ref><ref name="elpais">{{cite web|url=http://elpais.com/m/elpais/2012/08/14/inenglish/1344943477_469339.html|title=The curious case of Valencia's flameproof cypresses|date=14 August 2012|publisher=sociedad.elpais.com|access-date=2015-09-06}}</ref> This is leading to considerable interest in its use in creating firebreaks in areas prone to wildfire.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Della Rocca | first1=G. | last2=Hernando | first2=C. | last3=Madrigal | first3=J. | last4=Danti | first4=R. | last5=Moya | first5=J. | last6=Guijarro | first6=M. | last7=Pecchioli | first7=A. | last8=Moya | first8=B. | title=Possible land management uses of common cypress to reduce wildfire initiation risk: a laboratory study | journal=Journal of Environmental Management | volume=159 | date=2015 | doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.05.020 | pages=68–77 | pmid=26046989 | bibcode=2015JEnvM.159...68D | url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301479715300724 | access-date=2025-07-29| url-access=subscription }}</ref>
===Cosmetic and medicinal uses=== While some studies show it has modern medicinal properties, it is most noted for uses in folk medicine, where the dried leaves of the plant are used to treat various ailments.<ref name=sas>{{Cite journal |last1=Selim |first1=Samy A |last2=Adam |first2=Mohammed E |last3=Hassan |first3=Sherif M |last4=Albalawi |first4=Abdulrhman R |date=December 2014 |title=Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the essential oil and methanol extract of the Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) |journal=BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=179 |doi=10.1186/1472-6882-14-179 |issn=1472-6882 |pmc=4052795 |pmid=24890383 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In cosmetics, it is used as an astringent, for firming, as an anti-seborrheic, for anti-dandruff, for anti-aging and as a fragrance.<ref name = Carrasco>{{cite book | title = Diccionario de Ingredientes\ 4ª Ed | author = Carrasco, F. | publisher = www.imagenpersonal.net | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-84-613-4979-1 | page = 267 | chapter = Ingredientes Cosméticos}}</ref> It is also the traditional wood used for Italian harpsichords.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=Frank|title=Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making|date=1965|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-88845-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/threecenturiesof00hubb/page/201 201]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/threecenturiesof00hubb/page/201}}</ref> thumb|Open cone with seeds
Dried seeds of ''Cupressus sempervirens'' are sometimes used to help people control skin conditions such as acne and to heal cuts or scrapes.<ref name=sas/> The oil from the leaves of the plant can aid in recovery from minor ailments like nasal congestion.<ref name=sas/>
== Habitats == ''Cupressus sempervirens'' grows primarily in places with wet winters and hot summers; in the spring and autumn, the tree grows out its roots, stems, and leaves.<ref name=EFSA/> Like most plants, it requires light for such growth.<ref name="EU-Trees4F"/> Because the tree must survive wet winters and hot, dry summers, its roots are adapted to be stout and shallow for easier gathering of the nutrients in the soil.<ref name=EFSA/> The roots are adapted to function in both acidic and alkaline soils.<ref name=sas/>
== In culture == ===Iran=== [[File:Stylized Trees and Flowers on the Apadana Staircase (Best Viewed Size "Large") (4688859421).jpg|thumb|Stylized Cypress Trees from Persepolis, Shiraz, Iran. One of the three varieties of ''C. sempervirens'' native to Iran is called the Shirazi Cypress.]] In Persian, ''C. sempervirens'' is called the "Graceful Cypress" (''sarv-e nāz''), and has a strong presence in culture, poetry and gardens. It bears several metaphors, including the "graceful figure and stately gait of [the] beloved".<ref name="Aʿlam-2020" /> Iranians considered cypress to be a relic of Zoroaster. A Zoroastrian tradition recorded by Daqiqi maintains that King Vishtaspa, after converting to Zoroastrianism, ordered a cypress brought from paradise by Zoroaster to be planted near the first fire temple.<ref name="Aʿlam-2020" />
The oldest living cypress is possibly the Sarv-e-Abarkooh in Iran's Yazd Province. Its age has been claimed to be approximately 4,000 years,<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness World Records|publisher=BANTAM DELL|year=2011|editor=Craig Glenday|url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_5 |url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_5/page/95 95]|isbn=9781904994671}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2022}} though there is no scientific evidence for this claim.
===Symbolism=== In classical antiquity, the cypress was a symbol of mourning, and in the modern era, it remains the principal cemetery tree in both the Muslim world and Europe. In the classical tradition, the cypress was associated with death and the underworld because it failed to regenerate when cut back too severely. Athenian households in mourning were garlanded with boughs of cypress.<ref>Servius, note to Vergil's ''Aeneid'' 3.680.</ref> Cypress was used to fumigate the air during cremations.<ref>Isidore of Seville, ''Etymologiae'' 17.7.34.</ref> It was among the plants that were suitable for making wreaths to adorn statues of Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld.<ref>Natalis Comes, ''Mythologiae'' 2.9.</ref>
The poet Ovid, who wrote during the reign of Augustus, records the best-known myth that explains the association of the cypress with grief. The handsome boy Cyparissus, a favourite of Apollo, accidentally killed a beloved tame stag. His grief and remorse were so inconsolable that he asked to weep forever. He was transformed into a cypress tree, with the tree's sap as his tears.<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 10.106ff.</ref> In another version of the story, it was the woodland god Silvanus who was the divine companion of Cyparissus and accidentally killed the stag. When the boy was consumed by grief, Silvanus turned him into a tree and thereafter carried a branch of cypress as a symbol of mourning.<ref>Servius, note to Vergil's ''Georgics'' 1.20.</ref>
In Jewish tradition, cypress is held to be the wood used to build Noah's Ark{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} and Solomon's Temple,<ref>{{cite book |last=Kalimi |first=Isaac |title=Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-108-47126-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YR50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA285 |access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref> and is mentioned as an idiom or metaphor in biblical passages, either referencing the tree's shape as an example of uprightness or its evergreen nature as an example of eternal beauty or health. The tree features in classical Aramaic writings.<ref>Aramaic Targum of Song of Solomon 1:17, Quote: “Solomon, the prophet, said: ‘How beautiful is the Temple of the Lord that was built by me from cedar trees! But how much more beautiful shall be the Temple that will be built in the future in the days of the King Messiah, whose rafters shall be taken from the cedars of the Garden of Eden, and whose joists shall be taken from cypress trees (''Cupressus sempervirens''), firs and junipers’...”</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2024}}
In popular culture,{{Where|date=September 2024}} ''C. sempervirens'' is often stereotypically associated with vacation destinations in the Mediterranean region, especially Italy. The tree has been seen on travel posters for decades.<ref name="wikimedia">{{cite web|url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Italian_Lakes,_travel_poster_for_ENIT,_ca._1930.jpg|date=2009-04-15|title=Image: Italian_Lakes,_travel_poster_for_ENIT,_ca._1930.jpg, (3091 × 5015 px)|publisher=upload.wikimedia.org|access-date=2015-09-06}}</ref><ref name="postercorner">{{cite web|url=http://www.postercorner.com/v/vspfiles/photos/01422-2T.jpg|title=Image: 01422-2T.jpg, (300 × 453 px)|publisher=postercorner.com|access-date=2015-09-06|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222002421/http://www.postercorner.com/v/vspfiles/photos/01422-2T.jpg|archive-date=2015-02-22 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2024}} <gallery widths="160px" heights="200px"> Image:Autumn images - panoramio.jpg|Fastigiate Mediterranean cypresses in Corfu, Greece. Image:Vincent Van Gogh 0016.jpg|''Cypresses'' (1889) by Vincent van Gogh, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Other van Gogh cypress paintings include ''Wheat Field with Cypresses'' and ''The Starry Night''. Image:Cupressus sempervirens Stricta.jpg|Fastigiate Mediterranean cypress ''C. sempervirens'' 'Stricta', planted in Hawaii. </gallery> {{Clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Farjon, A. 2013 Cupressus sempervirens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2 * Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. {{ISBN|1-84246-068-4}}. * {{cite book|title=Conifers Around the World|year=2012|publisher=DendroPress|isbn=978-9632190617|pages=1089|url=http://conifersaroundtheworld.com|author=Zsolt Debreczy, Istvan Racz|edition=1st|editor=Kathy Musial}} * Panconesi, A. 2007 ''The cypress from myth to future''. [''Italian''] 456 p. Ed. Centro Promozione Pubblicità, {{ISBN|9788888228204}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * ''[https://www.euforgen.org/species/cupressus-sempervirens/ Cupressus sempervirens]''—information, genetic conservation units and related resources from the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
{{Cupressaceae}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q147513}} {{Authority control}}
sempervirens Category:Trees of Western Asia Category:Flora of Turkey Category:Flora of Crete Category:Flora of the Mediterranean basin Category:Trees of Mediterranean climate Category:Garden plants of Europe Category:Ornamental trees Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Drought-tolerant trees