Cupressus cashmeriana

Carrière (1867)

Common names

Kashmir Cypress (Dallimore et al. 1967). This is a wildly inaccurate name, for the species is native to Arunachal Pradesh, 2000 km E of Kashmir. See Maerki (2013) for how this error arose.

Taxonomic notes

Neotype from a 2011 collection at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where Carrière worked; Y. Pauthier s.n. (P; neoisotypes G, K) (Maerki 2013). A noteworthy specimen in habitat is Kingdon-Ward 12449 (BM), designated by Silba as the type of Cupressus assamica, now recognized as a synonym for C. cashmeriana. Other synonyms include C. torulosa var. cashmeriana (Carr.) A.H.Kent ex H.J.Veitch, C. darjeelingensis (Silba) Silba, Cupressus himalaica var. darjeelingensis Silba, and C. pseudohimalaica Silba. Also note that the authorship is usually erroneously given as "Royle ex Carrière" because Carrière (1867) cited Royle (1839); but as explained by Maerki (2013), Royle says nothing about this species, except to note that Cupressus is absent in Kashmir.

There has been an exceptional amount of debate and disagreement about this species, because it was for a long time the only recognized Himalayan cypress, a region now known to be the center of diversity for Cupressus. Accordingly most of the other Himalayan cypress species now recognized have been stripped away from C. cashmeriana, leaving the species as now circumscribed native only to Arunachal Pradesh, India's easternmost state. We still await clear circumscription of the species' distribution, as well as a molecular genetic study of the Himalayan cypresses.

Description

Farjon (2005) gives the following description, which may not suffice to distinguish C. cashmeriana from similar species: Evergreen, monoecious trees to 95 m tall and 350 cm dbh, usually with a single straight trunk and a conical (young trees) to broad and irregular (old trees) crown of sinusoidal (proximally ascending, distally drooping) branches. Bark first smooth, exfoliating in thin strips, later fibrous, red-brown with a purple-brown inner bark. Twigs slightly flattened, slender, drooping, alternating, forming planar frondose sprays. Leaves scale-like, decussate, imbricate, appressed, dimorphic with facials slightly smaller than laterals, on the smallest branches 1.4-3×0.5-1 mm, except up to 12×2 mm on whip shoots; margins entire; glands conspicuous on facial leaves; stomata mostly on margins near leaf bases; green, but varying from not glaucous to highly glaucous. Pollen and seed cones borne on different branches. Pollen cones solitary, terminal, 4-6×2-2.5 mm, yellow-green turning light brown, with 10-16 microsporophylls. Seed cones solitary or in small groups near branch ends, taking two seasons to mature, subglobose, 12-21×10-19 mm, green maturing dark brown; bracts 4-5 angular, centrally depressed with a ca. 1 mm long protruding bract tip; about 10 seeds on each scale. Cotyledons 2; juvenile leaves only seen on seedlings, in whorls of 4, acicular, 7-10 mm long.

Maerki (2013) adds the following, to distinguish C. cashmeriana from C. bhutanica:

Character	C. cashmeriana	C. bhutanica
Cones	Larger and serotinous; up to 14 scales; more seeds.	Smaller and not serotinous; up to 12 scales; fewer seeds.
Foliage	Glaucous-gray both in cultivation and in habitat.	Variable, in habitat bearing dark green foliage, in cultivation similar or glaucous-blue.
Pollen release in Europe	October.	January.

Distribution and Ecology

India: Arunachal Pradesh. Climate is monsoonal with 800-2000 mm annual precipitation. Grows at elevations of 1250-2670 m, mainly as an emergent in evergreen hardwood forests dominated by Quercus spp. but it can also form pure stands on limestone cliffs, and near its upper elevation limits, it occurs with Tsuga dumosa (Farjon 2005, but he synonymized all eastern Himalayan species of Cupressus).

The current conservation status, "Near Threatened", uses Farjon's (2005) taxonomy and thus applies to all eastern Himalayan cypresses. Since the distribution of C. cashmeriana and its population status are so poorly known, it should probably be assessed as "Data Deficient".

Remarkable Specimens

There are two accounts, but both might be specimens of C. bhutanica: A tree in Trongsa, Bhutan was approximately 60 m tall and greater than 6 m in girth (191 cm dbh) in March, 2011. A description and several good photos are at the Monumental Trees site (accessed 2013.03.18). Also, there was an unspecified report of trees up to 95 m tall and 350 cm diameter "in some secluded deep mountain valleys" (Farjon 2008).

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2026-01-28.

Observations

No data as of 2026-01-28.

Remarks

The epithet cashmeriana reflects Carrière's misapprehension that Royle (1839) found this species in Kashmir. In fact, Royle says only that Kashmir has no Cupressus (Maerki 2013).

Citations

Carrière, E. A. 1867. Traité Général des Conifères, ed. 2, 1: 161. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.08.30.

Maerki, D. 2013. Which Latin name for the tsenden? Bulletin of the Cupressus Conservation Project 2(2):39-71, accessed 2025.08.30.

Royle, J. Forbes. 1839. Illustrations of the botany and other branches of the natural history of the Himalayan Mountains and of the flora of Cashmere. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.08.30; see Maerki (2013) for other references to Royle.

See also

Anonymous. 2005. Photos at the Cupressus Conservation Project website.

Elwes and Henry 1906-1913 at the Biodiversity Heritage Library. This series of volumes, privately printed, provides some of the most engaging descriptions of conifers ever published. Although they only treat species cultivated in the U.K. and Ireland, and the taxonomy is a bit dated, still these accounts are thorough, treating such topics as species description, range, varieties, exceptionally old or tall specimens, remarkable trees, and cultivation. Despite being over a century old, they are generally accurate, and are illustrated with some remarkable photographs and lithographs.

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account (of C. cashmeriana), with illustrations.