Contemporary Circumscription Compared with A Utah Flora 4th ed.

Bio430

Cupressaceae

A Utah Flora distinguishes Cupressaceae as separate from Taxodiaceae, a common decision in many temperate floras.  A look at global diversity, though, shows that the features that work locally to distinguish the families do not work well with global diversity. Also, phylogenetic analyses show that Cupressaceae is clearly nested within Taxodiaceae—so a single family should be recognized.  Cupressaceae was named first so it has priority.

Key Features

Cupressaceae are woody trees and shrubs with resin canals and rot-resistant wood.  In many genera, leaves are  very small, imbricate (overlapping) and scale-like, but may be longer and awl-like, especially on juvenile foliage, or, in some trees, needlelike. The leaves can be opposite, whorled, or alternate; in some genera, the branchlets are deciduous.  Cones are small to medium sized, woody, or fleshy and berry-like in Juniperus. Plants may be Monecious or Dioecious.