Hesperocyparis goveniana
Credits
Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton
Recommended citation
'Hesperocyparis goveniana' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Callitropsis goveniana (Gordon) D.P.Little
- Cupressus attenuata Gordon & Glend.
- Cupressus bourgeaui Gordon
- Cupressus californica Carrière
- Cupressus goveniana Gordon
- Neocupressus goveniana (Gordon) de Laub.
Other taxa in genus
- Hesperocyparis abramsiana
- Hesperocyparis arizonica
- Hesperocyparis bakeri
- Hesperocyparis benthamii
- Hesperocyparis forbesii
- Hesperocyparis glabra
- Hesperocyparis guadalupensis
- Hesperocyparis lusitanica
- Hesperocyparis macnabiana
- Hesperocyparis macrocarpa
- Hesperocyparis pygmaea
- Hesperocyparis sargentii
- Hesperocyparis stephensonii
Editorial Note
The text below is from Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles (Bean 1976) where it appeared under the old name Cupressus goveniana. We have moved this text here, unaltered, under the correct modern name with appropriate synonymy, to bring this account in line with modern taxonomic treatments. For an in-depth overview of the studies and ensuing taxonomic changes that prompted this change, see both the Hesperocyparis and Callitropsis genus accounts.
The main text for this and related taxa will be updated when sponsorship is forthcoming; if you would like to support the revision of these accounts please contact the editors.
TC, October 2024.
In the wild a small tree or large shrub, never more than about 25 ft high in its typical state, but taller in cultivation. The branchlets are more slender than in C. macrocarpa, clad with rich green foliage; as in that species they are arranged in four ranks, scale-like and flattened to the branch, but are somewhat smaller. The two species also resemble each other in having non-glandular leaves (cf. C. macnabiana, in which the leaves are pitted with sunken, resin-exuding glands). The cones are smaller than in C. macrocarpa, being 2⁄5 to 3⁄5 in. long, with six to ten scales and more or less globular in shape. Seed ripe in the second year, dark brown to almost black.