Cupressus bakeri

Cupressus bakeri, reclassified as Hesperocyparis bakeri,[3][4][5] with the common names Baker cypress, Modoc cypress, or Siskiyou cypress, is a rare species of cypress tree endemic to a small area across far northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon, in the western United States.

Cupressus bakeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Cupressus
Species:
C. bakeri
Binomial name
Cupressus bakeri
Jeps. 1909
Natural range
Synonyms[2]
  • Callitropsis bakeri (Jeps.) D.P.Little
  • Cupressus macnabiana var. bakeri (Jeps.) Jeps.
  • Hesperocyparis bakeri (Jeps.) Bartel(current botanical name) [3]
  • Neocupressus bakeri (Jeps.) de Laub

Distribution

The tree grows in a small section of northern California within Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta, Plumas and Tehama Counties; and very localized in southwestern Oregon in Josephine and Jackson Counties.[6]

It is usually found in small, scattered populations, not in large forests, at altitudes of 900–2,000 metres (3,000–6,600 ft). This includes locales in the Modoc Plateau, southern Cascade Range, Klamath Mountains, and northern Sierra Nevada.[7] It is slow-growing in the wild, and is mostly restricted to sites difficult for plant growth, on serpentine soils and on old lava flows. Its tolerance of these sites enables it to avoid competition from much faster-growing trees. It is found in chaparral and Yellow pine forest habitats.[5]

Cupressus bakeri trunk and bark of a juvenile tree

Description

Cupressus bakeri−Hesperocyparis bakeri is an evergreen tree with a conic crown, growing to heights of 10–25 metres (33–82 ft) (exceptionally to 39 meters−130 feet), and a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm (20 inches) (exceptionally to 1 meter—40 inches).

The foliage grows in sparse, very fragrant, usually pendulous sprays, varying from dull gray-green to glaucous blue-green in color. The leaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots.[8]

The seed cones are globose to oblong, covered in warty resin glands, 10–25 mm long, with 6 or 8 (rarely 4 or 10) scales, green to brown at first, maturing gray or gray-brown about 20–24 months after pollination. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, and release pollen in February–March.[9]

The cones often remain closed for several years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire, thereby allowing the seeds to colonize the bare ground exposed by the natural fire.

Conservation

Fire suppression policies of the past decades have severely limited reproduction of this fire dependent species. It is listed as an IUCN Red List vulnerable species.[10]

See also

References
  1. Farjon, A. (2013). "Cupressus bakeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T34047A2841226. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34047A2841226.en.
  2. The Plant List, Cupressus bakeri Jeps.
  3. USDA: Hesperocyparis bakeri . accessed 8.28.2015.
  4. Jepson eFlora (JM2): Hesperocyparis bakeri . accessed 8.28.2015.
  5. CalFlora Database: Hesperocyparis bakeri . accessed 8.28.2015.
  6. United States Department of Agriculture plants profile
  7. Jepson Manual, University of California
  8. Pinetum Photos, trees
  9. Pinetum Photos, cones
  10. Conifer Specialist Group (2000). "Cupressus bakeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000. Retrieved 5 May 2006.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2bcd v2.3)
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