Protocols for Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits

CHAPTER 9
MICROPROPAGATION OF MEDITERRANEAN
CYPRESS (CUPRESSUS SEMPERVIRENS L.)
A. GIOVANELLI 1 AND A. DE CARLO 2
1 IVALSA/Istituto per la Valorizzazione del Legno e delle Specie Arboree, Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 50010 Sesto Firentino (Firenze), Italy.
E-mail: giovanelli@ivalsa.cnr.it
2 IGV/Istituto di Genetica Vegetale, Sezione Firenze, Consiglio Nazionale della
Ricerche (CNR), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze), Italy.
E-mail: decarlo@ivalsa.cnr.it
1. INTRODUCTION
The “Mediterranean” or “common” cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) is a tall
tree (up to 30 m in height), belonging to the genus Cupressus, Family Cupressaceae.
The Genus includes as much as 25 species (Ducrey et al., 1999), largely diffused in
the Mediterranean basin, in Asia and in North America. Of them, the Mediterranean
cypress is by far the most important and widespread species in the Mediterranean
area. It is native to Northern Persia, as well as Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and several
Greek islands. However, during the Roman Empire it was introduced into all the
Mediterranean countries, where it can now be considered naturalised. The cypress is
monoecious, and bears male and female strobili (cones) separately at the end of
short branchlets. Depending on the crown branch habit, the species is divided into
two varieties, i.e.:
– C. sempervirens var. horizontalis, the most common in natural areas, characterised
by spreading branches and a broad conical crown;
– C. sempervirens var. pyramidalis (= var. fastigiata), the most popular for ornamental
use because of its erect branches, parallel to the trunk, which give the tree
its typical columnar shape.
The Mediterranean cypress plays fundamental ecological, economical and ornamental
roles in the Mediterranean region. Indeed, the species has important characteristics
of marked drought hardiness, and suitability in difficult terrains such as
calcareous, clayey or rocky soils. As regards the cypress timber, it has interesting
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S.M. Jain and H. Häggman (eds.), Protocols for Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits, 93–105.
© 2007 Springer.