Hesperocyparis bakeri

Baker cypress, siskiyou cypress, Siskiyou Cypress

Family: Cupressaceae · Type: tree · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Baker cypress is a California native tree ranked 4.2 by CNPS, found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in mixed-evergreen forests and open slopes, often on serpentine terrain at elevations of 1,100 to 1,800 meters. A distinctive conifer with bark that peels in irregular plates in shades of red-brown to gray-brown, this tree grows 7 to 30 meters tall with ultimate branches less than a millimeter in diameter. Its foliage ranges from dark to gray-green, with small seed cones 10 to 18 millimeters wide that develop a warty, silvery to dull brown surface. The tree produces small, spheric pollen cones about 2 to 3 millimeters long with 6 to 10 scales. Its seeds are typically 3 to 4 millimeters long, often glaucous and tan to dull red-brown, marked with numerous distinctive pitch pockets.

Habitat: Mixed-evergreen forest, open slopes, flats, often on serpentine

Elevation: 1100-1800 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, n SNH, MP

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