Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in the valleys of the Klamath Mountains, often along streams. It is a large evergreen tree, maturing up to 197 ft (60 m) tall or more, with trunks 4–7 ft (1.2–2 m) in diameter, with feathery foliage in flat sprays, usually somewhat glaucous (i.e. blue-green) in color. The leaves are scale-like, 1⁄8–3⁄16 inch (3–5 mm) long, with narrow white markings on the underside, and produced on somewhat flattened shoots. The foliage gives off a rather pungent scent, not unlike parsley. The seed cones are globose, 9⁄32–9⁄16 inch (7–14 mm) diameter, with 6-10 scales, green at first, maturing brown in early fall, 6–8 months after pollination. The male cones are 1⁄8–5⁄32 inch (3–4 mm) long, dark red, turning brown after pollen release in early spring. The bark is reddish-brown, and fibrous to scaly in vertical strips. It was first discovered (by Euro-Americans) near Port Orford in Oregon and introduced into cultivation in 1854, by collectors working for Charles Lawson FRSE of the Lawson & Son nursery in Edinburgh, Scotland, after whom it was named as Lawson Cypress by the describing botanist Andrew Murray. The USDA officially calls it by the name Port Orford cedar, as do most people in its native area, but some botanists prefer to use the name Lawson cypress (or in very rare instances Port Orford cypress) instead. The name 'Lawson's cypress' is widely used in horticulture. The extinct Eocene species Chamaecyparis eureka, known from fossils found on Axel Heiberg Island in Canada, is noted to be very similar to Chamaecyparis pisifera and C. lawsoniana. The wood is light yet has great strength and rot resistance, and is particularly highly valued in east Asia, with large amounts being exported to Japan where it is in high demand for making coffins, and for shrines and temples. Its lumber is also known for its highly fragrant ginger aroma. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts. It is also considered an acceptable, though not ideal, wood for construction of aircraft. However, it is considered more than acceptable for use in stringed instruments. Its fine grain, good strength and tonal quality are highly regarded for soundboards in guitar making. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana thrives best in well-drained but moist soils, in a fairly sheltered position in full sun. Several hundred named cultivars of varying crown shape, growth rates and foliage colour have been selected for planting in parks and gardens. In the UK the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017): In the wild, the species is seriously threatened by a root disease caused by the introduced oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora lateralis. This disease is also a problem for horticultural plantings in some parts of North America. The tree is sometimes killed, though less often, by other species of Phytophthora.