Cupressus guadalupensis
Encyclopedia
Cupressus guadalupensis, the Guadalupe cypress, is a species of cypress
from Guadalupe Island
off western North America.
, found only on Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean
west of Baja California
. It is found growing at altitudes of 800–1280 m (2,624.7–4,199.5 ft), in the island's recovering chaparral and woodlands
habitat
s.
Cupressus guadalupensis has previously been listed as being synonymous with Cupressus forbesii
, which had been listed as a variety of C. guadalupensis in the past. Recent analyis, however, has placed C. forbesii as a separate, albeit closely related, species.
conifer tree
with a conic to ovoid-conic crown, variable in size, with mature trees reaching 10–20 m (32.8–65.6 ft) tall. The foliage grows in dense sprays, dark green to gray-green in color. The leaves
are scale-like, 2-5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots.
The seed cones
are globose to oblong, 12-35 mm long, with 6 to 10 scales, green at first, maturing gray-brown to gray about 20-24 months after pollination. The cones remain closed for many years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire
, thereby allowing the seed
s to colonise the bare ground exposed by the fire. The male cones are 3-5 mm long, and release pollen in February-March.
goat
s ate the seedlings that germinated for over a century. One major subpopulation was destroyed entirely, and the isolated stands were nearly destroyed. Also, with the animals destroying most vegetation, and especially the island's cloud forest
, the water table
dropped, further jeopardizing the remaining two main subpopulations.
The principal habitats were fenced in by 2001, and long-awaited removal of goats was effectively completed by 2005. The first young plants in 150 years or so are now able to grow and mature without being grazed away. The present small population of 100 extant trees are vulnerable to long term viability. It appears this cypress is more vulnerable to drought than other island native plant
s, such as the Guadalupe variety of Monterey Pine
(Pinus radiata var. binata), and so the population could decline further with future climate changes. Habitat and watershed restoration and support projects are ongoing by Mexican conservation organization programs.
Cupressus guadalupensis is considered a vulnerable species
by the IUCN.
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
from Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...
off western North America.
Distribution
The Guadalupe cypress, Cupressus guadalupensis, is endemic to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, found only on Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
west of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. It is found growing at altitudes of 800–1280 m (2,624.7–4,199.5 ft), in the island's recovering chaparral and woodlands
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s.
Cupressus guadalupensis has previously been listed as being synonymous with Cupressus forbesii
Cupressus forbesii
Cupressus forbesii is a species of cypressin western North America. -Distribution:Cupressus forbesii is native to chaparral and woodlands habitats and grows at...
, which had been listed as a variety of C. guadalupensis in the past. Recent analyis, however, has placed C. forbesii as a separate, albeit closely related, species.
Description
Cupressus guadalupensis is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
conifer tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
with a conic to ovoid-conic crown, variable in size, with mature trees reaching 10–20 m (32.8–65.6 ft) tall. The foliage grows in dense sprays, dark green to gray-green in color. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are scale-like, 2-5 mm long, and produced on rounded (not flattened) shoots.
The seed cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are globose to oblong, 12-35 mm long, with 6 to 10 scales, green at first, maturing gray-brown to gray about 20-24 months after pollination. The cones remain closed for many years, only opening after the parent tree is killed in a wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, thereby allowing the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s to colonise the bare ground exposed by the fire. The male cones are 3-5 mm long, and release pollen in February-March.
Conservation - restoration
Guadalupe Island had a population of numerous but old and weak trees in 2000 . As a viable conifer woodland species they disappeared rapidly from the late 19th century onwards, as hordes of introduced feralFeral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s ate the seedlings that germinated for over a century. One major subpopulation was destroyed entirely, and the isolated stands were nearly destroyed. Also, with the animals destroying most vegetation, and especially the island's cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
, the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
dropped, further jeopardizing the remaining two main subpopulations.
The principal habitats were fenced in by 2001, and long-awaited removal of goats was effectively completed by 2005. The first young plants in 150 years or so are now able to grow and mature without being grazed away. The present small population of 100 extant trees are vulnerable to long term viability. It appears this cypress is more vulnerable to drought than other island native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
s, such as the Guadalupe variety of Monterey Pine
Monterey Pine
The Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....
(Pinus radiata var. binata), and so the population could decline further with future climate changes. Habitat and watershed restoration and support projects are ongoing by Mexican conservation organization programs.
Cupressus guadalupensis is considered a vulnerable species
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
by the IUCN.
See also
- California chaparral and woodlandsCalifornia chaparral and woodlandsThe California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
- (ecoregion) - California coastal sage and chaparralCalifornia coastal sage and chaparral ecoregionThe California coastal sage and chaparral, a sub-ecoregion of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, is found in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California in Mexico.-Location:...
- (subecoregion)