Tree Family Cupressaceae – Redwoods, Cypress, Arborvitae, Juniper

Tree Family Cupressaceae – Redwoods, Cypress, Arborvitae, Juniper
There are thirty (many monotypic) genera and 142 species in the family Cupressaceae, now widely regarded as including the Taxodiaceae, previously treated as a distinct family.
The Cupressaceae are found in the fossil record as far back as the Jurassic Period, about 210 million years ago.
Please select a thumbnail for more and larger images and information on each species.

The heartwood of many species of Cupressaceae is resistant to termite damage and fungal decay, and therefore it is widely used in contact with soil. Most prominent in the flora are redwood and baldcypress; the premier coffin wood of China, Cunninghamia lanceolata, is another member of the family. Other genera, usually called cedars, may have aromatic woods with a variety of specialty uses. Wooden pencils are made from incense-cedar, Calocedrus decurrens, and eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, which is also used for lining cedar chests. Wood from species of Thuja is still used for "cedar" roofing shingles.

Arborvitae Genus Thuja	Japanese Cedar Cryptomeria japonica	Hillspire Juniper Juniperus virginiana 'Cupressifolia'	Obelisk Juniper Juniperus chinensis 'Obelisk'	Blue Rug Juniper Juniperus horizontalis
Polish Juniper Juniperus communis 'Cracovia'	Rocky Mountain Juniper Juniperus scopulorum	Ames Juniper Juniperus chinensis 'Ames'	Silver King Juniper Juniperus scopulorum 'Silver King'	Swedish Juniper Juniperus communis var: suecica
	Needle Juniper Juniperus rigida	Funeral Cypress Cupressus funebris	Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'	Golden Pfitzer Juniper Juniperus chinensis 'Pfitzeriana aurea'
Atlantic White-Cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides	Dawn-Redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides	Alaska-Cedar Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis	Eastern Red Cedar Juniperus virginiana	Port Orford Cedar Chamaecyparis lawsoniana