Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
Introductory
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Esser, Lora L. 1994. Hesperocyparis sargentii. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/hessar/all.html [2025, August 19].
Revisions:
On 17 October 2013, the scientific name of this species was changed in FEIS from: Cupressus sargentii
to: Hesperocyparis sargentii. References added [27,36]to support the name change.
ABBREVIATION :
HESSAR
SYNONYMS :
Callitropsis sargentii (Jeps.) D.P. Little [39]
Cupressus sargentii Jeps. (Cupressaceae) [4,11,23,38]
Cupressus sargentii var. sargentii
Cupressus sargentii var. duttonii Jeps. [23,30]
Neocupressus sargentii (Jeps.) de Laub. [37]
NRCS PLANT CODE :
HESA17
COMMON NAMES :
Sargent's cypress
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of Sargent's cypress is
Hesperocyparis sargentii (Jeps.)Bartel (Cupressaceae) [27,36].
Natural hybridization between Sargent's cypress and MacNab cypress
(Hesperocyparis macnabiana) has been hypothesized, but evidence for it is
inconclusive [18,29].
LIFE FORM :
Tree
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Sargent's cypress occurs only in California and has the widest
distribution of all of the coastal California cypress [20]. Numerous
scattered groves occur in the Coast Ranges from northern Mendocino
County south to Santa Barbara County [5,15,29]. Sargent's cypress is
cultivated in Hawaii [35].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
STATES :
CA HI
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
3 Southern Pacific Border
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K009 Pine - cypress forest
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
SAF COVER TYPES :
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
231 Port-Orford-cedar
232 Redwood
234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
247 Jeffrey pine
248 Knobcone pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak - gray pine
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Sargent's cypress is a component of the northern interior cypress forest.
This community is an open, fire-maintained, scrubby forest similar to
the knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) forest. Sargent's cypress occurs in
widely scattered, isolated groves throughout its range. It occurs in
dense thickets as well as in open groves and sparse stands [30]. Dense
thickets are common in burned areas [29]. Sargent's cypress is associated
with serpentine chaparral, and intergrades on less severe sites with
upper Sonoran mixed chaparral, montane chaparral, or knobcone pine
forest community types. On more mesic sites the northern interior
cypress forest intergrades with mixed evergreen forest or montane
coniferous forest [12,16]. Sargent's cypress is associated with redwood
(Sequoia sempervirens)-Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest and
associated North Coast forests in Mendocino County, California [8,33].
It is commonly associated with chaparral and gray pine (Pinus sabiniana)
throughout its range [4,16,29]. In some areas, Sargent's cypress is
associated with yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa and P. jeffreyi) forests,
closed-cone coniferous woodlands, and pine-cedar-cypress pygmy forests
[11,26,33]. Sargent's cypress occurs sympatrically with MacNab cypress in
Lake County, California, where it is larger and tends to occupy lower
slopes than MacNab cypress [22,29].
Publications naming Sargent's cypress as a community dominant are listed
below.
California chaparral [10]
The closed-cone pines and cypress [29]
Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of
California [12]
Species not previously mentioned but commonly associated with Sargent's
cypress include sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), Coulter pine (P.
coulteri), bigcone Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), incense-cedar
(Libocedrus decurrens), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), California
scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), leather oak (Q. durata), huckleberry oak (Q.
vaccinifolia), musk brush (Ceanothus jepsonii), wedgeleaf ceanothus (C.
cuneatus), coyote ceanothus (C. ferrisae), dwarf ceanothus (C. pumilis),
bigberry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca), whiteleaf manzanita (A.
viscida), serpentine manzanita (A. obispoensis), Tamalpais manzanita (A.
pungens var. montana), hoary manzanita (A. canescens), Mariposa
manzanita (A. mariposa), chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), interior
silktassel (Garrya congdonii), boxleaf silktassel (G. buxifolia),
California bay (Umbellaria californica), chaparral yucca (Yucca
whipplei), tree poppy (Dendromecon rigida), yerba santa (Eriodictyon
californicum), California juniper (Juniperus californica), and
twistflower (Streptanthus spp.) [4,10,12,16,29].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Cypress (Hesperocyparis spp.) wood is generally durable and stable. It is
suitable for a wide range of exterior uses including joinery, shingles,
and boats. Possible interior uses include moulding and panelling [34].
Cypress shelterbelts provide good fuel. Most cypress species develop a
large proportion of heartwood, which splits well, dries quickly, and is
clean-burning. Cypress wood is moderately fast burning because of its
medium density. As cypress woods are prone to sparking, they are
recommended only for enclosed fires [34].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Rodents and deer consume cypress seedlings [30]. Cypress are considered
undesirable forage for livestock, although young Sargent's cypress are
grazed by cattle [4].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
Dense thickets of Sargent's cypress provide cover for deer [30].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Grazing and trampling by livestock are detrimental to cypress seedlings
[1]. Fire followed by intensive grazing could eliminate a cypress grove
[5].
Sargent's cypress is unsuitable for use in windbreaks or hedges near the
coast or in areas that are waterlogged, because waterlogged soils may
result in dwarfed trees [29,30].
Seedlings are susceptible to damping-off fungi [29]. Sargent's cypress is
moderately susceptible to coryneum canker (Coryneum cardinale), which
can kill trees. Mistletoe (Phoradendron pauciflorum) often forms dense
clusters on bushy Sargent's cypress trees in Marin County, California
[30].
Sargent's cypress is largely restricted to serpentine soils. Using
cypress wood to fuel the furnaces used to extract mercury from
serpentine soils has reduced California's cypress forests [2].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Sargent's cypress is a native, evergreen tree with a slender main trunk.
On exposed sites, it assumes a shrubby growth form [4,23]. It normally
grows from 33 to 50 feet (10-15 m) tall, but in mesic canyons of
northern and central California it can grow up to 75 feet (22.5 m) tall
[4,15,23]. Mature leaves are 0.08 inch (2 mm) long, although they can
be up to 0.4 inch (10 mm) on vigorous shoots [4,23]. Ovulate cones are
solitary, up to 1.0 inch (25 mm) long. Staminate cones are 0.12 to 0.16
inch (3-4 mm) long [11,23]. The bark is furrowed and fibrous, 1.2
inches (3 cm) thick, splitting into longitudinal strands [4,23,30]. A
well-defined taproot and numerous laterals are formed the first year
[15,30].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sargent's cypress reproduces exclusively from seed. Cone production is
abundant. Staminate cones are produced on trees that are 6 to 7 years
old [30]. Ovulate cones are produced on trees that are 5 to 6 years of
age or older [4,29,30]. The cones require 2 years to mature [4]. They
contain about 100 seeds each [4,23]. Cypress cones are closed; they
persist on the tree until opened by the heat of a fire or from
desiccation due to age [15,29]. Seeds are shed gradually over several
months after the cones are opened [29]. Detached cones will open, but
they rarely result in seedling establishment, usually due to lack of a
suitable seedbed [4]. Seed dispersal is primarily by wind and rain
[29].
Cypress seeds require bare mineral soil for germination and
establishment. Seedling mortality is high on shaded sites with
abundant litter because of damping-off fungi [4,29]. Seedlings are
sensitive to excessive moisture [30].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Sargent's cypress most often occupies rocky outcrops or formations,
usually in serpentine soils [3,4,22,29]. Soils are usually well-drained
and less than 1 foot (0.30 m) deep [22]. Sargent's cypress is commonly
found on dry slopes, exposed hillsides, and ridgetops, but also grows
along streambanks, creek bottoms, and lower canyon slopes [22,29].
Sargent's cypress occurs at elevations from 660 to 3,300 feet (200-1,000
m) [11,30,31].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Site requirements for cypress seedlings are typical of those for pioneer
conifers. Seedlings are shade intolerant and survive best in full
sunlight on bare mineral soil [4,29]. Most chaparral species inhibit
the establishment of cypress seedlings on most sites due to competition.
However, most chaparral species are less able to compete on serpentine
soils where Sargent's cypress is often found. Sargent's cypress is favored
over nonserpentine-adapted chaparral species on these sites [4].
On Red Mountain in Mendocino County, California, there exists a
pine-cypress climax community on serpentine soil. An abrupt boundary
with more typical Douglas-fir-hardwood forest exists on adjacent soils
derived from sedimentary rock. It is hypothesized that the climax
vegetation would be different on these adjacent sites if the parent
material was derived from peridotite instead of sedimentary rock [33].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Cypress pollination occurs in late fall and spring [30]. Seeds mature
15 to 18 months after pollination. Ovulate cones remain closed until
opened by heat or age [15,30].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Sargent's cypress is a fire-adapted, fire-dependent species [20,29]. It
has slightly fire-resistant bark and serotinous cones, although its low
branching habit makes it susceptible to crown fires [1,4,30].
Successful cypress (Hesperocyparis spp.) reproduction is generally restricted
to burned sites [29]. The serotinous cones persist on the trees for
years [1,32]. Some Sargent's cypress cones have remained closed on trees
for over 8 years [29]. Cone opening is erratic, slow, and almost
negligible except when cones are exposed to extreme heat; then it is
rapid and uniform [22,32]. When opened by the heat of a fire, the seeds
fall on exposed mineral soil [19,30]. Most seed falls in the first few
months following fire [32]. Fires that occur in late summer and fall
and are followed by winter rains ensure seed dissemination on bare
mineral substrates and moist conditions for germination [29]. No
information was available on fire-free intervals for communities
dominated by Sargent's cypress. Tecate cypress (Hesperocyparis forbesii),
however, a cypress found in southern California, has an average interval
between fires of 25 years, ranging from 15 to 63 years [4]. In southern
California, Sargent's cypress trees generally reach cone-bearing age before
another fire occurs [29,30].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes"
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
Crown residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Most severe fires probably kill Sargent's cypress. Cypress thickets are
conducive to crown fires, which usually kill most trees in the burned
area, although fire may be patchy [29]. At the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic
Garden in southern California on October 8, 1943, a severe fire killed
all Sargent's cypress trees [30]. Some large trees could probably survive
surface fires; however, most large trees in burned areas are located on
bare or rocky sites that may have been left unburned [29]. Cones of the
California cypress open as the resin melts and boils. Rapid charring of
the thick cone scales extinguishes the flames, leaving seeds unburned
[4].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Sargent's cypress release large quantities of seed after fire [30]. In
Lake County, it occurs on recently burned areas with MacNab cypress
[22]. Sargent's cypress commonly forms thickets of dwarfed trees
following chaparral fires [22,30].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Fires occurring too frequently in Sargent's cypress groves may destroy
them, as reproduction could be eliminated before it had a chance to
produce cones. Conversely, fire suppression could threaten the species
[4,5].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Hesperocyparis sargentii
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