What Are Cypress Trees?

• The Cypress tree is thought to be a native of the ancient Mesopotamia region between the Tiber and Euphrates rivers, also known as Persia, or modern-day Iraq and Iran. The Persians regarded the cypress tree as sacred, and it is believed that it was these same people who originally brought the cypress tree with them to other areas of the world.
  
  The cypress tree is an evergreen tree that can often be classified as a shrub, depending on its height. The tree grows all over the world and can come in many different shapes and heights, as well as varying shades of green, depending on the area it is native to.
  
  For example, cypress trees native to the United States are most often found in the west of the country, possessing bluish-green foliage as in the Monterey or Tecate cypress, or a dark green hue like the Gowen cypress.
  
  The foliage of a cypress tree most often resembles scales, with an intricate pattern of overlapping pairs on the stem. Cypress trees also develop woody cones that are usually less than 1.5 inches in diameter and contain the seeds of the tree.
  
  Cypress trees can grow as high as 70 feet or as short as 25 feet or less. The wood of the tree is hard and very durable. It is most often reddish-brown in color.
  
  

Death and the Afterlife

• Some ancient religions believed that the cypress tree is one of the last trees seen when the dead enter the underworld. This belief and the wood being so durable, prompted the Greeks and Romans to use the wood for coffins or to hold the ashes of those who had died serving their country. They also buried branches of cypress with their dead. The Egyptians used it as well to protect their mummies.
  
  Christians and Muslims often placed cypress trees in cemeteries to ward off evil spirits that may seek to harm the souls of those entering the underworld.
  
  

Life

• For those in Turkey, the cypress tree often symbolized the universe, due to its roots being underground, its trunk above ground, and its leaves reaching for the sky. This represented three distinct levels of life--birth, middle life and heaven--with the fact that the tree is evergreen, symbolizing immortality. In the Ottoman Empire, the cypress tree was known as the tree of life.
  
  

Freedom and Truth

• Persian cultures believe the tree is a symbol of freedom and integrity. It was thought that the essence of the tree carried with it truthfulness, so anyone who breathed in the scent of the tree could not be deceitful in its presence.
  
  

Types

• The cypress tree family is large, containing more than 130 species.
  
  In the United States, there are generally three main species of cypress trees: the bald cypress, leyland cypress and the Arizona cypress.
  
  Europe is home to the Mediterranean cypress tree also known as the common cypress, Italian cypress, graveyard cypress, Tuscan cypress, funeral cypress, pencil pine or Spanish cypress.
  
  There are also the African cypress, Chinese Swamp cypress, and Siberian cypress, just to name a few.