10 Graines Cyprès de Provence, Cupressus sempervirens

Common cypress, cypress of Provence, cupressus sempervirens |

Cupressus sempervirens, still called Common cypress, Cypress sempervire, Cypress Always Green, Cypres d'Italie, Cypress of Provence, or even Cypress Mediterranean is a tree in the family of Cupressaceae. He is fromAsia Minor, but he was acclimatized throughout the northern hemisphere, and more particularly around the Mediterranean basin. It resists −20 ° C and tolerates a relative drought. It is also present in the southern hemisphere as in Antananarivo where it is common.

10 seeds - stratification with cold 2/3 months before sowing - sowing at 16/18 ° C

The tree can reach 20 to 30 m high1 and 2 m of Tower2. It is very branched, except in its lower part. The bark is brunette, fairly fine and cracked. The tree has two totally different ports : The form Horizontalis, with pyramidal appearance and with very spread branches (called " Male cypress "), and the form Fastigiata, with a very slender appearance, resembling a column or a brush (known as " female cypress ")2. and have a quadrangular transverse section. Young feet carry needles and the oldest of green scales, nested quite tight in four rows, one on each side of the branch. They do not give off any odor when they are crumpled and are persistent.

Wood, very dense and almost rot -proof, is appreciated by cabinetmakers. In the biblical episode of deluge, theark of Noah was made of resinous wood, or wood " GOFER " or " GOPH »(Hebrew : גפר). The Phoenicians, the Assyrians, the Romans and the Greeks used it for the construction of ships, temple doors and coffins5. At the time, he was already considered the mourning tree, which may explain that he is so frequently planted in cemeteries.

The monastery Santo Toribio de Liébana has a relic of Sainte Croix of Christ whose scientific expertise from 1958 certifies its composition in cypress sempervire6.

Theessential oil, extracted from branches, is used for its properties on venous and lymphatic circulation, in particular its vasoconstrictive properties3.

Cypress essential oil is produced by water steam distillation of the leafy branches. It takes approximately 1 kg of twigs to obtain 10 ML of essential oil.

Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA license 3.0. Source : Article Cupressus sempervirens by Wikipedia in French (Authors)