Mountain Cypress Tree Information


Images of Mountain Cypress:



Mountain Cypress grows in the following 5 states and provinces:

Alaska, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington


Information about Mountain Cypress:


More information about Mountain Cypress may be found here.

The Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis is commonly known as the Alaska Cedar, Alaska Cypress, Alaska Yellow-cedar, Alaska Yellowcedar, Alaska-cedar, Cypress, Mountain Cypress, Nootka Cypress, Nootka False-cypress, Sitka Cypress, Yellow Cypress as well as Yellow-cedar.

The scientific name of Alaska-cedar is Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don) Spach. It is a member of the Cypress family (Cupressaceae) . Alaska-cedar hybridizes with members of the genera Xanthocyparis and Cupressus. The hybrids are as follows : Chamaecyparis nootkatensis × Xanthocyparis vietnamensis Cupressocyparis × notabilis (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis × Cupressus glabra) Cupressocyparis × ovensii (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis × Cupressus lusitanica) Cupressocyparis × leylandii (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis × Cupressus macrocarpa) The Cupressocyparis hybrids have been extensively introduced in Great Britain .

Alaska-cedar is found in the Pacific Coast mountain ranges from south-central Alaska to southwestern Oregon with isolated groves in the Siskiyou Moutains of northern California . The eastern edge of Alaska-cedar's range is defined by two disjunct populations: one in the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern British Columbia and one in the Aldrich Mountains of central Oregon .

Alaska-cedar is listed as a dominant or codominant overstory species in the following publications: A preliminary classification system for vegetation of Alaska . The forest communities of Mount Rainer National Park . A preliminary classification of forest communities in the central portion of the western Cascades in Oregon . Preliminary plant associationa of the southern Cascade Mountain Province . Preliminary plant associations of the Siskiyou Mountain Province . Vegetation and the environment in old growth forests of northern southeast Alaska: A plant association classification .

Some of the information provided here is attributed to:Griffith, Randy Scott. 1992. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). , available at the USDA Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) website