Cupressus sempervirens, commonly known as the Mediterranean Cypress or Pencil pine, is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southeast Greece), southern Turkey, Cyprus, western Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree to 35 m in height, with a conic crown with level branches and variably pendulous branchlets. It is very long-lived, with some trees reported to be over 1,000 years old. The foliage grows in dense sprays, dark green in colour. The leaves are scale-like, 2-5 mm long, and produced on rounded shoots. The seed cones are ovoid or oblong, 25-40 mm long, with 10-14 scales, green at first, maturing to a golden brown. The male cones are 3-5 mm long. Mediterranean Cypress has been widely cultivated as an ornamental tree for millennia away from its native range, mainly throughout the central and western Mediterranean region, and in other areas with similar hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Pencil pines are hardy and will grow in all but the most severe climatic zones of Australia. They are also more tolerant of dry conditions than most other cypresses. It makes an excellent bonsai subject.
