Chamaecyparis

Chamaecyparis, commonly called false-cypress to distinguish it from the related true cypresses, is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia, specifically Japan and Taiwan, and to the western and eastern margins of the United States. The name derives from the Greek khamai, on the ground, and kuparissos, cypress, a reference to some smaller-growing species in the genus. Chamaecyparis trees range from medium-sized to large, reaching 20 to 70 metres in height, with foliage arranged in flattened sprays rather than rounded shoots. Trees display two distinct leaf forms across their lifetime: soft, needle-like juvenile foliage present on seedlings up to about a year old, followed by tightly overlapping, scale-like adult leaves, with small cones bearing winged seeds.