The cones are 8–40 mm long, globose or ovoid with 4 to 14 scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; they are mature in 18–24 months from pollination.

[1] 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.

[6] Many species of cypress are grown as decorative trees in parks and, in Asia, around temples; in some areas, the native distribution is hard to discern due to extensive cultivation.

The name of the genus comes from Cyparissus, a young man loved by Apollo, very attached to a deer which he ended up killing by mistake during a hunting trip.

The association with mourning continued in Roman times, up to the present day, also for a practical reason: the roots of the cypress are straight into the ground, and expand slightly laterally, not damaging the burials.

[7] Juniperus C. pendula Thunberg C. tonkinensis Silba C. sempervirens von Linné C. atlantica Gaussen C. dupreziana Camus C. chengiana Hu C. duclouxiana Hickel C. gigantea Cheng & Fu C. torulosa Don ex Lambert C. cashmeriana Royle ex Carrière C. austrotibetica Silba C. corneyana Knight & Perry ex Carrière C. vietnamensis (Farjon & Nguyên 2002) Silba C. nootkatensis Don C. bakeri Jepson C. macnabiana Murray C. goveniana Go C. macrocarpa Hartweg ex Gordon C. sargentii Jepson C. glabra Sudworth C. arizonica Greene C. guadalupensis Watson C. montana Wiggins C. forbesii Jepson C. lusitanica Miller C. stephensonii Wolf The number of species recognised within this genus varies sharply, from 16 to 25 or more according to the authority followed, because most populations are small and isolated, and whether they should be accorded specific, subspecific or varietal rank is difficult to ascertain.

New World species are found in marginal habitats with xeric soils, and therefore exhibit a fragmented allopatric pattern of distribution.