A Cupressaceae or even cypress family is a conifer family of cosmopolitan distribution. A personal includes 27 to 30 genera (Xvii monotypic) by having astir 130-140 coinage. It is monoecious or (rarely) dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-112m (Three-367 foot) tall. A bark of mature trees is normally orange- to red- 'last & of stringy texture, typically flaking or even even peeling inside vertical strips, however smooth, scaly or arduous & square-cracked inside occasionally coinage.

A leaves are arranged either spirally, around intersecting pairs (paired pairs, both pair at 90° to the former pair) or even even inside intersectant whorls of Trio or Quaternity, based on the genus. In immatured plants, a leaves come needle-such as, becoming microscopic & shell-prefer in mature plants of numerous (but not 100%) genera; a bit of genera & metal money locate needle-prefer leaves throughout their life. Old leaves come mostly non shed singly, however inside microscopic sprays of foliage (cladoptosis); exceptions come a leaves in shoots which respond with into branches, which sooner or later fall off singly once a bark starts to flake. Virtually all come evergreen with the leaves persisting Two-10 years, however trey genera (Glyptostrobus, Dawn redwood, Taxodium) come deciduous or include deciduous species.

A cones are either woody, leathery, or even (within Juniperus) berry-like & overweight, by owning 1 to many ovules by the shell. When sustaining a foliage, a cone scales come intended spirally, intersecting (paired) or even whorled, based on the genus. Seedlings unremarkably use 2 cotyledons, but inside a few metal money as much as vi.

Cupressaceae is the virtually 100% widely distributed coniferous tree personal, using the touching-spherical home in all continents except for Antarctica, stretching from 71°N inside arctic Norway (Juniperus communis) south to 55°S within southmost Chile (Pilgerodendron uviferum), while Juniperus indica reaches 5200 m altitude in Tibet, the greatest altitude reported for any woody plant.

Classification
A personal Cupressaceae is today widely regarded when including a Taxodiaceae, previously treated as a distinct personal, however okay, shown does'nt to differ from either a Cupressaceae in any uniform characteristics. A of these exception in the previous Taxodiaceae is the genus Sciadopitys, which is genetically distinct from a rest of the Cupressaceae, & is nowadays treated inside its have personal, Sciadopityaceae.

A personal Cupressaceae is divided into septet subfamilies, according to inherited analysis: Cunninghamioideae: Cunninghamia Athrotaxidoideae: Athrotaxis Taiwanioideae: Taiwania Sequoioideae: Redwood, Sequoiadendron, Metasequoia Taxodioideae: Taxodium, Glyptostrobus, Cryptomeria Callitroideae: Callitris, Actinostrobus, Neocallitropsis, Widdringtonia, Diselma, Fitzroya, Austrocedrus, Libocedrus, Pilgerodendron, Papuacedrus Cupressoideae: Thuja, Thujopsis, Chamaecyparis, Fokienia, Calocedrus, Tetraclinis, Microbiota, Platycladus, Callitropsis, Cupressus, Juniperus

Superlatives
A personal is notable for including a big, tallest, & stoutest single trees in a globe, & too the 2nd yearn lived coinage in the globe:
Largest - Giant Sequoia
Tallest - Coast Redwood
Stoutest - Montezuma Cypress
2nd oldest - Alerce (after Great Basin Bristlecone Pine)

Uses
Several of the coinage come crucial timber sources, especially in the genera Chamaecyparis, Cryptomeria, Cunninghamia, Cupressus, Redwood & Thuja. Numerous come too of neat importance around gardening, virtually all notably Lawson's Cypress, several junipers and the infamous hybrid Leyland Cypress.