Cupressus duclouxiana Seeds | Chinese Cypress
LATIN NAME: Cupressus duclouxiana
COMMON NAME: Chinese Cypress, Yunnan Cypress
Plant Profile
Chinese cypress, known locally as gan bai, is a conifer of the dry river valleys of Yunnan, Sichuan and southeastern Tibet, usually between 1800 and 3000 metres. It forms a narrow, conical tree to twenty-five metres, with grey-brown bark that peels in long fibrous strips.
The scale-like foliage is dull green, and the small round cones, 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres across, ripen from green to dark brown and can hang on the branches for years. Unlike the coastal cypresses, it grows on limestone scree and rocky slopes where rainfall is low and the soil is thin and alkaline.
The trunk is often forked low down in old trees, and the crown stays narrow even in open ground.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is one of the few cypresses adapted to limestone, and that trait has made it a target for selection work in dryland forestry. Chinese researchers have screened provenances from Yunnan and Sichuan for drought tolerance and cone yield, since the timber is valued for temple construction and furniture.
Genetic studies show that wild populations are fragmented, with little gene flow between valleys. Seed-cone collections are held in provincial forestry institutes as a hedge against further habitat loss, and the species is increasingly used in reforestation of dry, stony ground where other conifers fail.
Wood density varies with altitude, and slow-grown timber from high sites is the most prized.
Uses & Benefits
Timber is fine-grained, aromatic and unusually durable, which is why it is used for beams, columns and the carved brackets of temples in western Yunnan. In the garden it makes a narrow, upright specimen for a dry border or a gravel garden, and it clips reasonably well into a loose hedge.
The foliage has a resinous smell when bruised. In its home range it is also planted around villages and monasteries, where old specimens are often protected and used as gathering places. The wood is worked into furniture, tool handles and coffins, and the sawdust is valued for its scent.
In dry western Yunnan it is also planted along field edges as a windbreak, where its dense crown shelters barley and beans from spring gales.
Growing from Seed
Seed needs no pretreatment but germinates unevenly. Sow on the surface of a gritty mix, press in, and keep at 15-20C with light; germination can take six weeks. Seedlings are slow for the first year and resent disturbance, so prick them out into deep pots as soon as the first true scales appear.
Plant out in full sun on sharply drained ground. The species tolerates alkaline soil and summer drought better than most cypresses, but it rots in winter wet, so a slope or a raised bed suits it best. Water through the first two summers, then leave it to fend for itself.
Our Take
A slow start is the price of a tree that will outlive most gardens. Given sun and sharp drainage, Chinese cypress asks almost nothing after the second year and looks right among gravel and stone.
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