Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Port orford cedar, lawson cypress, Lawson Cypress

Family: Cupressaceae · Type: tree · Native

Port orford cedar is a native tree found in the Klamath Ranges in coastal conifer, mixed-evergreen, and yellow-pine forests, often on serpentine at elevations below 1,700 meters. Producing yellow-green pollen cones that mature to dark red or purple-black, this impressive conifer has distinctive flat shoots held horizontally with lower surfaces often appearing paler. Growing to an immense height of 20 to 65 meters with a trunk potentially 6 meters in diameter, it features a fire-resistant red-brown to tan bark that is 15 to 25 centimeters thick. Its green leaves, often with a glaucous appearance, have lateral tips curved toward the stem axis and generally visible glands. The seed cones are small and spherical, measuring 6 to 11 millimeters across, with 7 to 10 scales containing 2 to 5 light chestnut-brown seeds that typically have distinctive wart-like pitch pockets.

Habitat: Coastal conifer, mixed-evergreen, yellow-pine forests, often on serpentine

Elevation: < 1700 m

Bioregions: KR

California counties: Humboldt, Del Norte, El Dorado, Sacramento, Trinity, Shasta, Siskiyou, Marin, Butte, Mendocino, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.