The specific epithet nootkatensis is derived from the species being from the area of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.

[4] The branches are commonly pendulous, with foliage in flat sprays and dark green scale-leaves measuring 3–5 millimeters (1⁄8–3⁄16 in) long.

[6][7][8] Callitropsis nootkatensis is one of the parents of the hybrid Leyland cypress; the other parent, Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), was also considered to be in the genus Cupressus, but in the North American Hesperocyparis clade, which has generally been found to be phylogenetically closer to C. nootkatensis than the Old World clade Cupressus sensu stricto.

Little et al.[13] therefore synonymised Xanthocyparis with Callitropsis, the correct name for these species under the ICBN when treated in a distinct genus.

[9][15] This was disputed, as the tree would compose a monophyletic subgenus, but the Gymnosperm Database suggested that it could comprise a monotypic genus as Callitropsis nootkatensis.

[18][19] It can be found at elevations higher than those reached by Thuja plicata (western redcedar), sometimes in a krummholz form, and even occupying very rocky sites (near the California-Oregon border).

[4] Isolated groves near Nelson, British Columbia, and John Day, Oregon, may be the descendants of local populations dating to the Last Glacial Period.

[4] It is shade tolerant, but less so than associated mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), and grows slowly.

These studies have concluded that the tree has depended upon heavy coastal snowpacks to insulate its shallow roots from cold Arctic winters.

The impacts of climate change have resulted in thinner, less-persistent snowpacks, in turn causing increased susceptibility to freeze damage.

[20] This mortality has been observed over 7% of the species range, covering approximately 10 degrees of latitude from northern southeast Alaska to southern British Columbia.

[4] Due to its slow growth it is hard and, like other cypress woods, it is durable; it therefore offers good dimensional stability and is resistant to weather, insects, and contact with soil.

When fresh cut it has a somewhat unpleasant bitter scent, but when seasoned it has barely any discernible odor, hence its traditional use in face masks.

In historic preservation it can be used as a substitute for Thuja plicata (western redcedar) and Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), due to current difficulties in obtaining quality timber of those species due to environmental concern and past over-exploitation, although this applies equally to Nootka cypress.

[28] In Tlingit culture the story of Natsilane describes how a Nootka cypress was used to carve the world's first killer whale.