Cypress Tree

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The cypress (cupressus sempervirens) is an evergreen tree that we find in the pyramid variety(pyramidalis) with the characteristic elongated foliage or in the horizontal form (horizontalis). The conical and tapered foliage is the result of cultivation dating back to ancient times; while the broad and expanded type is the original and spontaneous kind. In our countryside the cypress with the horizontal form is known as the “cipressa”. The cypress has small, scaly, hard and consistent leaves. The flowers, male and female present on the same plant, appear in early spring. The fruits (coccole or bacoccole) are round and formed with 8-14 woody scales and, once mature, they open and drop their seeds. The plant, native to the eastern Mediterranean, is widespread and naturalized in all countries of the area and grows from the sea up to 700 meters above sea level. In our territory, it marks the boundaries of the fields, surrounds villas, borders avenues and forms pure or mixed forests, which are called cipressaie. In almost all of our peninsula, the cypress tree is considered a funerary tree, only in Tuscany and in a few other areas (Lake Garda) do we find it in the avenues leading to villas and farms. The funerary symbolism is related to the myth of a young Cyparissus who, upon dying, was transformed into the plant that bears his name. In ancient times, the cypress, also for its appearance, had other symbolic meanings and evoked fertility, for this reason the Romans planted it as a guard for fields that were to produce good crops, or donated it to newlyweds.

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