20 Graines Cyprès de Lambert, Cupressus macrocarpa

Cypress of Lambert, Cypress de Monterey, Cupressus Macrocarpa |

The Cypress of Lambert or Cypress de Monterey (Cupressus Macrocarpa) is a species oftree of the family of Cupressaceae, endemic to the central coast of California.

20 seeds - Average germination: 20 % - Cold stratification (4 ° C) 2/3 months before sowing - Rusticity: - 5 ° C

It is a tree sempervire, of large size, which often becomes irregular and tabular under the effect of the strong winds which characterize its area of origin. It can push up to 25 meters in height1 and its trunk can reach a diameter more than 2 meters or more (a specimen in North Brittany, at Plestin-les-Grèves, Measures just over 4 m in diameter, 13 m in circumference2).

The foliage grows in dense twigs, brilliant green in color. The Leaves are in the form of nested scales 3 from 2 to 5 mm long covering cylindrical section ramules and not flattened. Young plants, up to a year, have juvenile sheets in the shape of 4 to 8 mm long.

The cones females are globular in oblong3 from 20 to 40 mm long, formed from 6 to 14 scales, green at the beginning, turning to brown after 20 to 24 months after pollination. The smaller male cones have 3 to 5 MM in length and release their Pollen in February-March.

In the state Endemic Original, the species is confined to two small stands located in California near Monterey and Carmel. These guts are protected within the framework of the Lobos point reserve and Del Monte Forest. An individual is particularly known, the Lone Cypress.

The natural habitat of this cypress is known to be fresh, in wet summers and almost constantly bathed by sea mists. It does not resist temperatures below - 15 ° C.

When it grows in better conditions than those of its original habitat, it often becomes larger, some individuals reaching 40 m high and 3 m in diametern 1. When it is planted in regions in hot summers, (for example inside California, far from the area of sea fog), it was very sensitive to the Cypress Chancre, provoked by a mushroom, the Cardinal Seiridium, and rarely survives more than a few years ; This is not a problem where summers are fresh.

The Lambert cypress is widely cultivated outside of its original area, both along the Californian coast and in other regions which have an Oceanic climate, fresh summers and mild winters (for example Great Britain, France, WestOregon and New Zealand where he is naturalized) in general as an ornamental tree and on occasion for the production of wood. Sawing woods are used by many craftsmen and small manufacturers as a boost and decorative wood for its beautiful pinkish color and fine grain.

In New Zealand, where it is always designated under the name of Macrocarpa, it is most often driven by protective tree in farms, most often in alignments or " curtains ”. In this country, the wood of Macrocarpa was used for closing posts before the electric fences are generalized.