Hesperocyparis macnabiana

Mcnab cypress

Family: Cupressaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Mcnab cypress is a California native shrub found in northern Coast Ranges, California Red Fir Forest, and northern Sierra Nevada Foothills in dry slopes, chaparral, and pine/oak woodland, often on serpentine at elevations of 300 to 1,460 meters. Growing as a large multi-trunked shrub or small tree 3 to 10 meters tall with fibrous gray-brown bark, this cypress features blue- to dull gray-green foliage that exudes copious, sticky resin. Its ultimate branches are distinctively four-sided and arranged in a single plane, creating a structured, compact growth form. The leaves are blue-green to gray, producing small pollen cones with 8 scales and seed cones 15 to 21 millimeters long that are generally gray to red-brown with distinctive upward-pointing conic projections. Its seeds are 3 to 5 millimeters long, glaucous, and dull brown with a conspicuous attachment scar.

Habitat: dry slopes, flats, chaparral, pine/oak woodland, often on serpentine

Elevation: 300-1460 m

Bioregions: NCoR, CaRF, n SNF

California counties: Butte, Tehama, Nevada, Napa, Lake, Shasta, Sonoma, Mendocino, Yuba, Mariposa, Amador, Los Angeles, Siskiyou, Colusa, Yolo

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