Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Cupressus macnabiana (McNab Cypress or Shasta Cypress) is a species of cypress endemic to northern California. It is one of the most widely distributed of all the native California cypresses, found growing in chaparral, oak woodlands and coniferous woodlands along the inner northern Coast Ranges and the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 3-12 meter (rarely to 17 meter) tall, with a spreading crown that is often broader than it is tall. The foliage is produced in dense, short flat sprays (unlike most other California cypresses, which do not have flattened sprays), bright waxy pale gray-green in color, with a strong spicy-resinous scent. The leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long with an acute tip, and a conspicuous white resin gland on the center of the leaf. Young seedlings produce needle-like leaves up to 10 millimeter long in their first year.

Plant type

Tree

Size

10 - 39 ft Tall

Dormancy

Evergreen

Special uses

Bank stabilization, Deer resistant

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Very Low, Low

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil description

Tolerates sand and clay often with a rocky substrate.

Sunset Zones

4, 5, 6, 7*, 14, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19, 20, 21*, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Dry slopes and flats

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 10 likely

Confirmed Likely

Muir's Hairstreak

Callophrys muiri

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Olive Hairstreak

Callophrys gryneus

Digrammia imparilata