Introductory
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



ABBREVIATION : 
CUPBAK

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   CUBA


COMMON NAMES : 
   Baker cypress
   Modoc cypress
   Siskiyou cypress


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of Baker cypress is Cupressus
bakeri Jeps. [10,19].  There are no recognized hybrids, varieties, or
forms.  Two subspecies are recognized by some authors [10,19,25]:  

Cupressus bakeri ssp. bakeri Jeps.        Baker or Modoc cypress
Cupressus bakeri ssp. matthewsii Wolf     Siskiyou cypress

Dodd [5,6] and Rafii [21,22] assert that population studies of
morphological and chemical diversity in Baker cypress do not support
subspecies status and believe that it should be discontinued.  Hickman's
[10] taxonomic classification shall be used for this paper.  


LIFE FORM : 
Tree

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
See OTHER STATUS

OTHER STATUS : 
Siskiyou cypress (C. b. ssp. matthewsii) is endangered in Oregon [25].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Lora L. Esser, January 1994


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Esser, Lora. 1994. Cupressus bakeri. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Baker cypress is restricted to northern California and southern Oregon.
Baker cypress (C. b. ssp. bakeri) occurs in Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, and
Siskiyou counties in California [18,25].  Siskiyou cypress (C. b. ssp.
matthewsii) has disjunct populations in the Siskiyou Mountains of
Josephine County, Oregon, and on Goosenest Mountain in Siskiyou County,
California [18,29]. The Bureau of Land Management administers the Baker
Cypress Natural Area and Timbered Crater Baker Cypress Natural Area,
both in Siskiyou and Modoc counties, California [16].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub


STATES : 
     CA  OR


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
NO-ENTRY


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   1  Northern Pacific Border
   4  Sierra Mountains
   


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K007  Red fir forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K010  Ponderosa shrub forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K026  Oregon oakwoods
   K030  California oakwoods
   K033  Chaparral
   K034  Montane chaparral


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   207  Red fir
   211  White fir
   218  Lodgepole pine
   233  Oregon white oak
   234  Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
   243  Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
   244  Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
   246  California black oak
   247  Jeffrey pine
   248  Knobcone pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Baker cypress is a component of the northern interior cypress forest.
This habitat type is an open, fire-maintained, scrubby forest similar to
the knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) forest.  It is associated with
serpentine chaparral, and intergrades on less severe sites with upper
Sonoran mixed chaparral, montane chaparral, or knobcone pine forest
community types.  On more mesic sites, the northern interior cypress
forest intergrades with mixed evergreen forest or montane coniferous
forest [11].  Baker cypress rarely forms pure stands [31].  The Timbered
Crater grove is associated with yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa and P.
jeffreyi) forest and suggests a transition zone between several plant
communities, including northern juniper woodland, yellow pine forest,
and sagebrush scrub.  High elevation groves of Baker cypress in Plumas
County, California, are associated with red fir (Abies magnifica)
forest [29].

Species not already mentioned that are commonly associated with Baker
cypress include sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), Brewer oak (Q. garryana
ssp. breweri), Sadler oak (Q. sadleriana), incense-cedar (Calocedrus
decurrens), Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana), Pacific yew (Taxus
brevifolia), juneberry (Amelanchier pallida), greenleaf manzanita
(Arctostaphylos patula), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata),
whitethorn ceanothus (Ceanothus cordulatus), wedgeleaf ceanothus (C.
cuneatus), deerbrush (C. integerrimus), Lemmon ceanothus (C. lemmonii),
squawcarpet (C. prostratus), snowbrush ceanothus (C. velutinus),
California redbud (Cercis occidentalis), birchleaf mountain-mahogany
(Cercocarpus betuloides), desertsweet (Chamaebatiaria millefolium), bush
chinquapin (Chrysolepsis sempervirens), low rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus
viscidiflorus), Fremont silktassel (Garrya fremontii), western juniper
(Juniperus occidentalis), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), Klamath
plum (P. subcordata), western chokecherry (P. virginiana var. demissa),
skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata), baldhip rose (Rosa gymnocarpa)
creeping sage (Salvia sonomensis), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia
tridentata), gooseberry (Ribes spp.), buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.),
honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), pussy paws (Calyptridium umbellatum),
larkspur (Delphinium spp.), bedstraw (Galium spp.), and goosefoot violet
(Viola purpurea) [2,5,11,27,29].
  

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Rodents consume cypress seeds [1,18].  Cypresses are considered
undesirable forage for livestock, although young plants are browsed
[27].  


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Baker cypress trees could be planted in the hot interior sections of
California as specimen trees, but are not feasible for windbreaks or
erosion control because of slow growth [31].  

Seedlings of Baker cypress are susceptible to damping-off fungi [29].
Baker cypress (C. b. ssp. bakeri) is occasionally attacked by juniper
mistletoe (Phoradendron juniperinum ssp. juniperinum) in Plumas County,
and Siskiyou cypress (C. b. ssp. matthewsii) has been infected by
coryneum canker (Coryneum cardinale), which can kill trees [9].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Baker cypress is a native, evergreen tree with a single stem and narrow
crown [12].  It grows from 33 to 99 feet (10-30 m) tall [10,31].
Juvenile leaves are from 0.08 to 0.4 inches (2-10 mm) long and may be
produced on seedlings for several years.  They gradually give way to
mature leaves, which are 0.08 inches (2 mm) long.  Ovulate cones occur
in clusters of 15 to 30 and are 0.8 to 1.6 inches (20-40 mm) in diameter
[1].  Staminate cones are 0.08 to 0.12 inches (3-4 mm) long [10].  The
bark of Baker cypress is partially exfoliating on the main trunk
[10,31].  A well-defined taproot and numerous lateral roots are formed
the first year [12].  


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Baker cypress reproduces exclusively from seed.  Cone production is
abundant.  Staminate cones are produced on trees that are 6 to 7 years
old [31].  Ovulate cones are produced on trees that are 14 years of age
or older and require 2 years to mature [1].  They contain from 50 to 100
seeds per cone [1,31].  The cones are closed; they persist on the tree
until opened by the heat of a fire or desiccation due to age [12,29].
Seeds are shed gradually over several months after the cones are opened
by heat [29].  Detached cones will open, but they rarely result in
seedling establishment, usually due to the lack of a suitable seedbed
[1].  Seed dispersal is primarily by wind and rain [29].

Baker cypress requires bare mineral soil for germination and seedling
establishment.  Seedlings of Baker cypress have been found in areas that
do not show signs of recent fire, but the seedlings area usually in the
immediate vicinity of fallen cypress trees and along skid roads [27].
Seedling mortality is greater in shaded situations with abundant litter 
because of damping-off [1,29].  Seedlings are sensitive to excessive
moisture [31].  


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Baker cypress is restricted to well-drained soils [1].  It occurs as
disjunct stands and isolated groves in the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade
Ranges, and the Siskiyou Mountains [21,29].  In the Siskiyou Mountains
Baker cypress occurs on serpentine soils; in the Sierra Nevada and
Cascade Range it occurs on basic volcanic rock.  Soil profiles are
almost absent.  On gentle slopes trees can be found on deeper soil
profiles; where Baker cypress is associated with red fir, a good humic
layer of dark brown soil exists [5].

Baker cypress is generally found at elevations from 3,795 to 7,042 feet
(1,150-2,134 m) on north- to northeast-facing slopes [5,29]. 


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Cypress seedlings are shade intolerant and survive best in full sunlight
on bare mineral soil [29].  In the Mud Lake-Wheeler Peak area of Plumas
County, Baker cypress is being replaced by red and white (Abies
concolor) firs.  Hundreds of saplings and pole-sized trees have died
with no indication of insects or disease. Competition of crowns for
light, shading of the ground, and accumulation of thick, black duff
characteristic of dense true fir stands have created an unfavorable
environment for the establishment and survival of Baker cypress [30].
According to Armstrong [1], cypresses of southern California are very
sensitive to lack of light, losing their foliage when growing in shade.

  


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Cypress (Cupressus spp.) shed pollen in late fall, winter, and spring.
Seeds mature 15 to 18 months after pollination.  Ovulate cones ripen the
second season after pollination, but remain closed until opened by heat
or age [12,31].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Baker cypress is a fire-adapted, fire-dependent species.  Reproduction
is usually restricted to burned sites [27].  The serotinous cones of
Baker cypress persist on the trees for years.  Cone-opening is erratic,
slow, and almost negligible except when cones are exposed to extreme
heat; then it is rapid and uniform [32].  When opened by the heat of a
fire, the seeds fall on exposed mineral soil, and produce thickets of
seedlings [16,31].  Most seed falls in the first few months following
fire [32].  Fires that occur in late summer and fall, followed by winter
rains, ensure seed dissemination on bare mineral substrates [27,29].  No
information was available on fire-free intervals for communities
dominated by Baker cypress.  However, Tecate cypress (Cupressus
guadalupenis var. forbesii), has an average interval between fires of 25
years, ranging from 15 to 63 years [1].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
   Crown residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Baker cypress has thin, exfoliating bark which offers little fire
protection [29].  Most fires probably kill Baker cypress.  Cones of the
California cypress open as the resin melts and boils.  Rapid charring
of the thick cone scales extinguishes the flames, leaving seeds unburned
[1].   

At the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in southern California on October
8, 1943, a severe fire killed all Siskiyou cypress (C. b. ssp.
matthewsii) trees.  Some Baker cypress (C. b. ssp. bakeri) were killed
from the heat even though they were not burned [31].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fires occurring too frequently in cypress groves may destroy them, as
reproduction could be eliminated before it had a chance to produce
cones.  Conversely, fire suppression could threaten the species.

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress 



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Related categories for Species: Cupressus bakeri | Baker Cypress