Cupressus funebris

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Cupressus funebris

Conservation status

Least concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Cupressaceae
Genus:	Cupressus
Species:	C. funebris

Binomial name

Cupressus funebris
Endl.

Cupressus funebris (Chinese Weeping Cypress) is a species of cypress native to southwestern and central China.

It is a medium-sized coniferous tree growing to 20-35 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The foliage grows in dense, usually moderately pendulous sprays of bright green, very slender, slightly flattened shoots. The leaves are scale-like, 1-2 mm long, up to 5 mm long on strong lead shoots; young trees up to about 5-10 years old have juvenile foliage with soft needle-like leaves 3-8 mm long. The seed cones are globose, 8-15 mm long, with 6-10 scales (usually 8), green, maturing dark brown about 24 months after pollination. The cones open at maturity to shed the seed. The pollen cones are 3-5 mm long, and release pollen in early spring.

Foliage with pollen and seed cones

Its precise natural range is uncertain due to a long history of cultivation. Trees are recorded from forest habitats in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, and Chongqing. More generally, it also occurs in Anhui, Fujian, southern Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Zhejiang, typically planted around monasteries and temples or in gardens. It is also occasionally cultivated as an ornamental tree in other warm temperate regions, and sometimes sold as a houseplant in colder climates.