Chamaecyparis obtusa 'PYGMAEA' Hinoki cypress

Chamaecyparis

The genus Chamaecyparis comprises a small group of coniferous trees native exclusively to eastern Asia and the western regions of North America. Botanically, it belongs to the cypress family and is characterised by its fine branch structure, scale‑like foliage and remarkable diversity of forms and colours, which has made it one of the most important genera of ornamental conifers. The genus was first formally described by Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher (1804�1849) in the first half of the nineteenth century, at a time when Europe was becoming increasingly familiar with the flora of the Far East. Fossil evidence suggests that the ancestors of modern false cypresses were once far more widely distributed, making the genus another example of woody plants that survived major climatic shifts in restricted refuges.