Baker Cypress

(Cupressus bakeri)

Color Photographs: © by and courtesy of Timothy D. Ives

Baker Cypress (Cupressus bakeri)

Identifying Characters: The circular glandular dots with white resin on the scale-like leaves are distinctive as well as the northern range of the species.

Similar Species: Baker Cypress is very similar to MacNab Cypress and both occur in northern California. The bark of Baker Cypress is smooth, red-brown, sometimes peeling in thin, curled plates. The bark of MacNab Cypress is rough, gray, fibrous, and broken by furrows. The cones of Baker Cypress are 0.3 to 0.75 inches in diameter while those of MacNab Cypress are larger at 0.75 to 1 inch. The range of Baker Cypress is generally more northern and central than that of MacNab Cypress.

Measurements: Mature trees are variable in height ranging from 30 to 100 feet in height with an average diameter of 2 feet.

Cones: Cones 0.3 to 0.75 inches in diameter, gray or dull brown; 6 to 8 hard, knoby scales with a short spine.

Leaves: Leaves opposite in 4 rows, longer than 1/16 inches in length; color gray-green; scale-like leaves with a circular gland exuding a white resin.

Bark: Bark red-brown, smooth, often peeling away in thin curls.

Native Range: Southwest Oregon and the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California.

Habitat: Baker Cypress most often occurs in Ponderosa Pine forests, particularly on serpentine or volcanic soils.