Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish conifers, especially if you’re not sure what to look for. Of course, they all have needles and cones that differ from each other, but that's not all. Detailed information on how conifers - thuja, cypress, juniper and cypress - differ among themselves, read further in the article.

The similarity of the genus cypress

Cypress is the common name of the genus belonging to the Cypress family. This genus includes about two dozen species of conifers and shrubs: Arizona, Kashmir, Sahara, California, Mexican, large-fruited, Himalayan and others. A typical species, cypress evergreen, is a tree up to 35 m high with a straight trunk, a conical crown and freely hanging branches.

Did you know? Mediterranean cypress is also known under the name “pencil” because of its unusual shape: the crown diameter is only 1.5 m at a height of 35 m.

Description of genus traits:

• leaves: scaly, pressed to branches; located in 4 rows; each ends with one tip; length 2–5 mm;
• needles color: dark green;
• seed cones: ovoid or oblong; length 25–40 mm;
• male cones: medium-sized, 3-5 mm long.

The Cypress family is more diverse: it includes 166 species, they belong to 32 different genera. Among them, not only cypress itself, but also cypress, thuja, cryptomeria, juniper, sequoia, taxium and others.

Important! If you decide to plant a cypress on the plot, remember that it must grow there alone because of its branched root system, which inhibits other plants.

Cypress trees are not the only coniferous family. For example, the genus of pine belongs to the family Pine or Coniferous. And in this family there are 11 genera, among which there are pine, spruce, larch, tsugu, cedar, fir and others.

The difference between cypress and cypress

Cypress is also called false cypress. He belongs to the same family, but is a completely different genus, in which several different species come together: Lavson, pea, stupid, Formosan, thuiform.

The main differences between these two genera are very numerous:

What is the difference between cypress and other conifers

The taxonomy of plants, that is, their classification, which allows you to divide plants into families, species, genus, etc., takes into account different signs, so a comparison of only cones or needles will not always be correct, but still it will allow you to distinguish between the main groups of conifers.

Did you know? Due to the high resin content in cypress wood, it has been excellently preserved for hundreds of years, which is why the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch advised writing laws on cypress boards.

Most often, when comparing cypress with other conifers, we are talking about pines and Christmas trees. These plants belong to different genera, so it is easy to compare them, starting with finding out the height of the tree, the color of the bark and needles.

Places and growth conditions

Each genus of conifers consists of many species. If you overlay their distribution zone on the map, all climatic zones will enter there. But the main difference is that cypress trees grow in warm climates, and pine and spruce trees grow in temperate, like cypress trees.

Leaves and needles

To quickly determine the affiliation of a plant, you can take into account the number of needles coming out of the same place on a branch. If the number of needles growing from one point is two, three or five, this tree can be called a pine. If only one needle appears from the point, and there are many of them on the branch, this is a sign of fir and spruce. Roll the needle between your fingers to understand whether it is fir or spruce: if it is flat and does not roll - a fir needle, and a tetrahedral - fir.

The cypress has small short leaves that are needle-shaped only at a young age, and subsequently become similar to scales. An important sign is that they do not stick out to the sides, which is typical for conifers like pine, but are pressed to the branches.

Crown shape

All conifers, which belong to the genus of pine, have a conical shape. And the genus cypress consists mostly of trees whose shape resembles an exclamation point. The height of pines reaches 80 m, but most plants of the same genus do not exceed a height of 15–45 m. Cypress trees also do not exceed a height of 20–40 m.

Bumps

The bump is a rod around which the scales are wrapped. The cypress cones are small (up to 4 cm) and are shaped like a ball. But the pines and spruces are large (up to 5-10 cm), conical, known to all by New Year's decor. In the thuja, the cone consists of 4 scales merged together.

Bark

The cypress bark is gray, with age it is divided into stripes with deep furrows and it seems that it seems to twist around the trunk. The cypress bark is reddish-brown with deep vertical furrows and a fibrous texture. The bark of the representatives of Sosnovy is dark, uniform.

Important! Thuja is toxic to any animals. The thujone poison contained in it can cause the death of your pet.

How to distinguish thuja from cypress

The needles of thuja and cypress are similar, but in the first it is in the same plane, and in the second - in different. If you turn the cypress needles in your fingers, then feel the edges, it will be smooth on the cypress.

Studying both plants, we can note the difference between them:

Differences of cypress from juniper

First of all, plants are distinguished by size. All cypresses are quite tall, but juniper is not higher than 7 m. Otherwise, it looks more like a thawed crown shape and growth habits. Among junipers there are also very low, creeping shrubs. The main sign - it does not form a lump, but the so-called lump, rather fleshy and edible. Outwardly, it resembles a rosehip and is widely used in folk medicine.

So, you have learned how, after a short study, to determine where cypress and where is another coniferous tree. But if you choose trees to grow them on your garden plot, you better focus on other important parameters, such as frost resistance, crown height and the appearance of a particular plant. And also be sure to think in advance of the composition for which you are buying it.