Cupressus lusitanica seed
LATIN NAME: CUPRESSUS LUSITANICA
COMMON NAME: Mexican Cypress, Cedar of Goa
The Mexican cypress is a tall, elegant evergreen of the mild highlands, its slender, slightly weeping crown giving it a graceful, columnar presence that has made it a favourite for avenues and parks. It grows as a conifer of the cypress family, reaching considerable height in good conditions, with fine, scale-like, grey-green foliage that carries a soft, aromatic scent when crushed. The small, rounded cones ripen through the winter and release many tiny seeds, and the bark is smooth and grey-brown, peeling in thin strips on older trees. Native to the highlands of Mexico and Central America, it has been planted widely across the mild uplands of the world, from tropical Africa to the Mediterranean, where it grows quickly and tolerates a range of conditions. It is sometimes called the cedar of Goa, a name that reflects its long history of cultivation beyond its native range. It thrives in full sun and deep, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Mexican cypress has a substantial record in forestry and arboricultural research. Its fast growth and straight trunk have made it a valued timber and shade tree, and foresters study its yield, its wood properties and its performance in plantation settings across the tropical highlands. Horticultural researchers examine its cultivation, its hardiness and the selection of ornamental forms, since its elegant, weeping habit has made it a garden and avenue favourite. The aromatic foliage and wood contain a range of fragrant compounds, and chemists study these essential oils for their composition and potential uses. In ecology, it is studied for its role in planted forests and its interaction with native vegetation in regions where it has been introduced. For a tree so widely planted and so commercially useful, the Mexican cypress continues to draw attention across forestry, horticulture and chemistry.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Mexican cypress provides dense evergreen cover for birds and its small cones feed seed-eating birds and rodents. In its native highlands it is part of the pine-oak forest community, and in planted regions it offers shelter and shade in landscapes that might otherwise be bare. Economically, it is a significant timber tree in the tropical highlands, with wood used for construction, furniture, joinery, boxes and paper pulp, and it is also planted for shade, windbreaks and erosion control. The essential oil from the foliage is used in soaps, perfumes and traditional remedies. Ornamentally, it is prized for its tall, slender, aromatic form in parks, avenues and large gardens. For a grower, it is a rewarding and fast-growing evergreen for mild climates, and for a forester it is a dependable plantation species. The tiny seeds germinate readily when sown on the surface in cool, moist conditions.
To grow the Mexican Cypress from seed, to start the Mexican cypress, give the tiny seeds a cool, moist spell, then sow them on the surface of gritty seed compost and keep them lightly watered in a sheltered, bright spot.
give the tiny seeds a cool, moist spell, then sow them on the surface of gritty seed compost, and keep the young cypresses in a sheltered, bright spot.
LATIN NAME: Cupressus lusitanica
COMMON NAME: Mexican Cypress
The Mexican cypress is a tall, elegant, evergreen conifer of the mild gardens, and its slender, conical crown and its fine, aromatic foliage have made it a valued tree of the parks and the avenues. It grows as an evergreen conifer, reaching up to thirty metres or more, with the upright, slightly branching trunk bearing the slender, spreading or drooping branches and the fine, scale-like, greyish-green foliage and, through the winter and the spring, the small, rounded cones of the many tiny seeds. It is a species of the conifer in the cypress family, and it is native to the highlands of the Mexico and the Central America, while it is grown in the mild regions of the world, and it is known as the Mexican cypress or the cedar of Goa.
The Mexican cypress belongs to the cypress family, Cupressaceae, and it is a species of the evergreen conifer, native to the highlands of the Mexico and the Central America, while it is grown as an ornamental and a timber tree, and it is known as the Mexican cypress. It is prized for its slender, elegant, conical crown and its fine, aromatic, greyish-green foliage.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Mexican cypress has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the forestry and the arboriculture, since its tall, straight, fast-growing habit has made it a valued timber and a shade tree, and researchers have examined its growth, its yield and its management, while its value in the plantations has drawn attention in the international forestry press as a tree of the mild uplands. The plant has also been studied in the horticulture and the arboriculture, since its slender, conical, elegant crown has made it a favourite of the parks and the avenues, and researchers have examined its cultivation and its hardiness, while the growing of the cypress in the garden has been of continuing interest, and the selection of the improved forms has been of value to the gardeners. The species has also been studied in the chemistry of the natural products, since the aromatic foliage and the wood of the cypresses contain a range of the fragrant compounds, and researchers have examined these constituents, while the chemistry of the cypress family has been of continuing interest, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and of the garden rather than a casual remedy. For a tree of such elegance, the Mexican cypress has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Mexican cypress is a generous tree of the garden. Its dense, conical crown gives a fine shelter to the birds, and its fine, aromatic foliage gives a soft, pleasing cover, while its small, rounded cones feed the seed-eating birds of the region. Its slender, dark green columns line the avenues of the mild towns, giving a quiet dignity to the street.
Its economic value is real. The Mexican cypress is prized for its tall, straight, fast-growing timber and its elegant, conical crown, and its value has drawn attention in the international forestry and horticultural press as a tree of the mild uplands, while its fine, durable wood has been used in the construction and the joinery. For a grower, the Mexican cypress is a rewarding and elegant tree, and for a gardener it brings a tall, slender, aromatic evergreen to the garden. The seeds are easy to start — sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining compost, keep them lightly watered in a sheltered spot, and theyll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a tall, elegant, aromatic evergreen tree.
Cedar-of-Goa Cupressus lusitanica is naturally distributed in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. In the 20th century it was introduced as a plantation forest tree into tropical Africa, where it is widely planted at higher elevations. It is also planted in South Africa. Uses The wood is used for construction, furniture, poles and posts. It is also suitable for light flooring, ship and boat building, vehicle bodies, agricultural implements, boxes and crates, interior trim, joinery, toys and novelties, turnery, draining boards, veneer and plywood, hardboard and particle board. The wood is used for paper making, e.g. in Ethiopia and Kenya. It is a good fuelwood. Essential oil from the leaves, twigs and branches of the tree is used as an adjuvant and perfume in soaps, room sprays, deodorants and other products. Cupressus lusitanica is planted as an ornamental (e.g. as a Christmas tree), as a shade tree, and in windbreaks and live fences. It is used for making toothbrushes and brooms. The bark is used as an astringent. The leaves are used to treat catarrh and headache, leaf sap to treat skin diseases. Essential oil from the leaves is used in the treatment of rheumatism, whooping cough and as a styptic. The vapour from a leaf decoction is inhaled several times a day for treatment of flu. Some ethnic groups in Mexico use the leaves against cancer. In Cameroon the leaf juice is used to cure skin diseases and the leaves are used to protect stored grain from insects.