Hesperocyparis glabra, known as the Arizona smooth bark cypress or smooth Arizona cypress, is a conifer native to the American Southwest, with a range stretching over the canyons and slopes in a somewhat wide vicinity around Sedona, Arizona. It is distinguished from Hesperocyparis arizonica by its very smooth, non-furrowed bark which can appear in shades of pink, cherry, and grey.[3]

Hesperocyparis glabra
Male pollen cones
Hesperocyparis glabra red bark peeling on trunk, Coconino National Forest, Arizona
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Cupressales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Hesperocyparis
Species:
H. glabra
Binomial name
Hesperocyparis glabra
(Sudw.) Bartel
Synonyms[2]
  • Callitropsis glabra (Sudw.) D.P.Little (2006)
  • Cupressus arizonica subsp. glabra (Sudw.) A.E.Murray (1982)
  • Cupressus arizonica var. glabra (Sudw.) Little (1966)
  • Cupressus glabra Sudw. (1910)
  • Neocupressus arizonica var. glabra (Sudw.) de Laub. (2009)

It is often seen in cultivation, as unlike the Monterey cypress, it has proved to be very resistant to cypress canker.[4]

Taxonomy

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Hesperocyparis glabra was scientifically described by George Bishop Sudworth in 1910 with the name of Cupressus glabra.[2][5] In 1966 the botanist Elbert Luther Little published a paper where he argued that it was a subspecies of what was then Cupressus arizonica.[2] Along with the other new world Cupressus species it was transferred to the new genus Hesperocyparis in 2009. At the same time the authors restored it as a species under its present name.[2][6]

As of 2024 Hesperocyparis glabra is listed as the accepted species name with no subspecies by Plants of the World Online (POWO),[2] World Flora Online,[7] and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS).[8]

References

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  1. ^ Farjon, A. (2013). "Cupressus arizonica var. glabra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T19708408A19708411. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T19708408A19708411.en. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Hesperocyparis glabra (Sudw.) Bartel". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ Earle, Christopher J. (2023). "Hesperocyparis glabra (smooth Arizona cypress) description". The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Hesperocyparis glabra (Arizona Cypress, Cuyamaca Cypress, Piute Cypress, Smooth Arizona Cypress)". North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. North Carolina State University. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ^ Sudworth, George Bishop (1910). "A New Cypress for Arizona". American Forestry. 16. Washington, D.C.: American Forestry Association: 88–90. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  6. ^ Adams, Robert P.; Bartel, Jim A.; Price, Robert A. (2009). "A new genus, Hesperocyparis, for the cypresses of the Western Hemisphere" (PDF). Phytologia. 91 (1): 160–185. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Hesperocyparis glabra (Sudw.) Bartel". World Flora Online. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  8. ^ NRCS (14 February 2024), "Hesperocyparis glabra", PLANTS Database, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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