Cupressus bakeri

Scientific name: Cupressus bakeri Jepson  1909

Synonyms: Callitropsis bakeri (Jeps.) D.P.Little, Cupressus macnabiana var. bakeri (Jeps.) Jeps., Hesperocyparis bakeri (Jeps.) Bartel, Neocupressus bakeri (Jeps.) de Laub.

Common names: Modoc cypress, Siskiyou cypress, Baker cypress

Description

Tree to 30(-40) m tall, with trunk to 1 m in diameter. Bark smooth, reddish brown, initially flaking in patches and later building up in layers. Crown sparse, broadly columnar. Branchlets cylindrical or slightly four-sided, 0.5-1.3 mm in diameter, branching from all four rows of leaves. Scale leaves on branchlets about 2 mm long, grayish green with wax deposits, not toothed, usually with a conspicuous and active gland accumulating a drop of dried resin. Pollen cones produced from a young age (6-7 years), 2-3 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, with (three or) four (or five) pairs of pollen scales, each with (three or) four or five pollen sacs. Seed cones a little oblong, 1-2.3 cm long, silvery gray at maturity or turning brownish after opening, not waxy, with three or four pairs of seed scales, each with a conical point on the face, the surface very warty with resin pockets. Seeds (2-)7-11 per scale, mostly 3-4 mm long, light tan to medium brown, sometimes with a thin waxy coating or scattered resin pockets. Cotyledons three or four.

Northern California and southwestern Oregon. Forming large or small stands or mixed with other conifers on volcanic or serpentine soils; 1,050-2,100 m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable

(This species is known from less than 10 locations, with the largest subpopulation covering less than 3 km²)

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland

Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.