FAMILY: CUPRESSACEAE
This is one of our most underestimated local plants. It deserves to be used more often in gardens, streets, and parks.
Its neat shape makes it suitable for formal situations
The fine, dense foliage makes it a useful contrast plant, when grown with other types of trees, as shown here in a natural situation at Maclagan.
Despite its name, individuals of this species vary in leaf colour, from the “white” (really blue-green), to a clear green. In the wild, plants of a variety of canopy colours often grow side by side.
Mature trees reach a height of about 18 metres.
Young trees may respond to damage by producing more than one trunk. For a cypress, pruning or trimming the foliage counts as damage, and is best avoided. Gardeners should supervise their young trees, and if any show signs of producing a second trunk (or more) to compete with the main trunk, these should be removed as soon as possible.
Older trees, however, benefit from tidying up by removal of dying lower branches, to neaten their trunks.
The new season’s cones are starting to be seen around the district at this time of year. Male and female cones are found on the same trees.
As with all conifers, the male cones (above) shed masses of pollen.
They depend on the wind to transfer their pollen to female cones. This is a rather hit and miss method. Unlike those plant species whose pollen is transported efficiently from flower to flower by insects or birds, they can’t afford heavy pollen, but must produce something light, and lots of it, so that at least some of it finds its way to its target.
Once pollinated, the female cones grow into this attractive spherical shape.
Later in the season they will split open to shed their small winged seeds.
White cypress is the famous timber tree, often called “cypress pine” although strictly speaking cypresses are not pines. The honey-coloured timber is an Australian classic, well-known for its use in house frames, floors and decking, where its hardness and its resistance to white ants (termites) and Lyctus borers is an important quality.
However it is also a good ornamental timber, attractively marked and taking a high shine.
