Hesperocyparis lusitanica
Hesperocyparis lusitanica
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Hesperocyparis lusitanica is found at elevations of 1,000 - 4,000 metres in tropical and subtropical areas[1]. It grows in seasonally moist to permanently moist climates, with annual precipitation typically between 1,000 and 1,500 mm and a dry season lasting not more than 2 - 3 months[1]. It also occurs in very moist climates with annual precipitation up to 4,000mm[1]. It prefers areas where the mean annual temperature is in the range 12 - 30°c, and is not generally damaged by occasional snow or brief periods of frost, though there are significant differences in this among provenances[1] Prefers a sunny position, tolerating light shade[2]. Flourishes in deep, moist, well-drained, fertile loams of neutral to slightly acidic reaction[1]. Plants cannot withstand waterlogging[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7[2]. The tree has escaped from cultivation and become invasive in Malawi[3]. Trees commence producing seed around the age of 6 - 9 years, or later on unfavourable sites[1]. Flowering takes place at the driest time of the year, with male and female flowers arising at different points on the crown (monosexual). Cones develop within 6 months after wind pollination and take 2 years to mature[1]. Weeding is an absolute must during the 1st years. Pruning is practised so that trees yield high-quality, knot-free sawlogs. Pruning should be done when trees are 3 years old, with 3 further prunings at 6, 9 and 13 years of age in a 25-30 year rotation. Trees grown for high-quality timber should be pruned to 30% of their stem height every 3 years without diminishing volume growth. Thinning is prescribed before each pruning. In early years, individual trees should show an annual height increment of 120 - 150cm (200cm in exceptional cases). Trees produce poles after 10 years and general-purpose timber after 20 years. They need to be protected from fire and rodent attack[1]. Annual wood production potential is 15 - 40 m3/ha[2]. Natural regeneration is good on burnt areas and natural clearings, if competition from ground flora does not become intensive[1].
Propagation
Seed - pre-sowing treatment is not necessary, but for rapid and uniform germination, stratification in damp sand for 30 days is recommended[1]. Direct sowing by placing seeds in bamboo sleeves has been used with some success, but sowing in a nursery bed is more common. Germination takes place in 20 - 30 days, the expected germination rate is 30 - 45% from mature, healthy seed lots[1]. Seedlings grown in raised beds are 5 - 7 cm tall in about a week, when they should be transferred into containers that have been prepared 3 - 4 weeks beforehand by sieving the soil to remove large particles and then allowing the soil to form a crumb structure, which promotes good drainage[1]. Plants 20 - 30 cm tall are transferred to a nursery before being planted out[1]. After extraction, the seeds are dried in the sun to 6-10% mc before they are stored. Long-term seed storage behaviour is orthodox. Germination rate for seeds in hermitic storage for 21 years at 5 deg. C with less than 10% mc is 10%; viability can be maintained in hermitic storage at 3 deg. C with 6-10% mc. With normal dry storage, 75% germination can be maintained for 1 year and for several years if seeds are refrigerated at 4 deg. C[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Hesperocyparis+lusitanica>
Pollinators
Wind
References
- [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [3]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [4]A Handbook of the World's Conifers Vol. 1 (Second revised edition) — Farjon A. · Brill; Leiden, The Netherlands · 2017 · ISBN 978 90 04 32449 7 ↩︎
- [5]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [6]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
- [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [8]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [9]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.