Cupressus sempervirens is an ornamental, medicinal, aromatic and coniferous  evergreen tree belonging to Cupressaceae (Cypress) family. The family includes about 30 genera, which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 140 species in total.

Mediterranean cypress is a species of cypress widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean region, including Greek Islands, Turkiye, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, as well as the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea in Iran. It might be endemic to Tunisia and northern Libya in north Africa, and at present, the species is grown or found wild throughout the whole Mediterranean region. The species name sempervirens comes from the Latin for ‘evergreen‘.  Cupressus sempervirens has been widely cultivated as an ornamental tree for hundreds of years away from its native range, mainly throughout the whole Mediterranean region, and in other areas with similar hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, including California, South Africa and southern Australia. This species also is spread on Mediterranean coasts, western Anatolia and even Black Sea coasts of Turkiye. In addition, it can be seen locally in the other regions of the country. The largest population in Turkiye is at the ‘Antalya Köprülü Kanyon National Park’ with 4360 decars.

Mediterranean cypress is a tree 20-30 m in height, with a conic crown. Trunk of the tree is straight, bark thin, smooth and grey, later becoming grey-brown and longitudinally furrowed. Round or quadrangular shoots are radiating in all directions, dark green leaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm long, and produced on rounded shoots. Flowers appear early in spring. 2-4 cm long globose, pendulous cones on short stalks are composed of 8-14 opposite scales, they are glossy green at first, maturing brown about 20–24 months after pollination. Each fertile scale, has 8-20 brown, flattened, narrowly winged seeds. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, and release pollen in late winter. Cones begin to open in September. After shedding the seeds, the cone persists on the tree for several years because, as with many species of Cupressus, this tree displays varying levels of serotiny: cones may remain unopened on the tree for many years until a fire induces them to open and subsequently to shed viable seed.

Cupressus sempervirens can grow their branches in two different ways, the first would be their standard branching going out laterally called horizontalis. The other form of branching would be more upwards rather than laterally called Cupressus sempervirens pyramidalis (syn. fastigiata or stricta) this is a cultivar group, with no botanical significance. There is another cultivar with narrowly columnar dark green foliage called Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem Pole’ or Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem’. The vast majority of the trees in cultivation are selected cultivars with a pyramidal crown, with erect branches forming a narrow to very narrow crown.

Mediterranean cypress is very long-lived, with some trees reported to be over 1,000 years old. In the ‘Samaria Gorge National Park’ in Western Crete trees grow to 30-33 m high and 1 m dbh. Sarv-e Abarkooh in Iran’s Yazd Province, is a multi-trunked tree 25 m tall and 575 cm dbh, claimed to be about 4000 years old.

Cupressus sempervirens’s live in a very wet environment in the winter, their roots are adapted to be very stubby so that they can have an easier time gathering the material and nutrients that the soil provides for them. Plant prefers sunny place, well drained, reasonably fertile soil. Regular trimming is essential to maintain the slender upright shape, starting from when the tree is very young. Tree is tolerant to temperatures as low as -20°C and tolerant to drought, air currents, wind dust, forest fire. It is a fast-growing tree when young, begins producing seed in tenth year. Propagation is done by seeds, grafting, cuttings and coppice shoots.

Use in Landscape: All cypresses are quite decorative, especially in their early ages, and used in park and garden landscaping as protective, strip, and live fence trees. Mediterranean cypress is particularly useful in urban areas or small gardens to add formal style and structure, especially due to its compact height. It is well adapted to the environment that it lives in. The plant should be used in a formal planting scheme to add height and structure, as a screening tree or to create a focal point in a garden design. Using these plants can protect fields from wind damage. It can be a useful screening tree if you want to hide a tall building from view. The dense evergreen of foliage provides good nesting and roosting opportunities for birds, and winter protection for wildlife.

Cupressus sempervirens is widely present in culture. It is a symbol of mourning, known as the ‘churchyard cypress’ in Christion world and ‘cemetery tree’ in Islamic world (Mezarlık Servisi in Turkish) often being found standing surrounding or inside graveyards. The tree has religious significance, to the Zoroastrians of Iran, who have a story that a sapling was brought from paradise by Zoroaster himself. Today many exceptionally large individual trees are protected in Iran. In Persian, the tree is called the ‘sarv-e nāz’ (graceful cypress), and has a distinguished presence in culture, poetry and gardens. It bears several metaphors, including the ‘graceful figure and stately gait of the beloved’.

In ancient Iran, at Yalda Night (longest night in the northern hemisphere), a tree called Yalda Tree was decorated, which was generally made of cypress or pine trees. It is said that the decoration of cypress and pine in Christmas was adapted from this ancient Iran custom. Cupressus sempervirens, was the first choice for Iranian gardens.

The leaves and cones of Mediterranean cypress have been used as folk remedies in different parts of the world as antiseptic, antipyretic, antiviral anthelminthic, cytotoxic, antioxidant astringent, antirheumatic, antihemorrhoidal, antidiarrhoeic, and vasoconstrictive purposes. Cypress oil has strong antimicrobial and insecticidal effects.