Cupressus is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees and shrubs within the family Cupressaceae and are commonly known as Cypress. They are native to scattered localities in mainly warm temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, including western North America, Central America, northwest Africa, the Middle East, the Himalayas, southern China and northern Vietnam. As with other conifers, extensive cultivation has led to a wide variety of forms, sizes and colours, that are grown in parks and gardens throughout the world.

Cupressus sempervirens, commonly known as the Mediterranean or Italian Cypress is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southeast Greece (Crete, Rhodes), southern Turkey, Cyprus, western Syria, Lebanon, Israel and western Jordan, and also a disjunct population in Iran. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree 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 species name sempervirens comes from the Latin for ‘evergreen’. When sowing the seeds of Cupressus sempervirens one has to break the seed dormancy. 1 month of warm stratification at 20°C followed by 3 to 4 months of cold stratification at 3 to 5°C are necessary to break dormancy of the Cupressus sempervirens seed.

Cupressus sempervirens ‘Stricta’, commonly known as Churchyard Cypress or Pencil Pine, is an evergreen, coniferous tree with aromatic leave that has a dense, thin, almost pencil-like growth habit. This hardy cultivar grows well at the coast and is able to withstand drought, mild frosts and neglect. Stricta is the narrowest of all of the Cupressus sempervirens.