Feb 05, 2011: I saw lots of similar cypresses in Sochi. They have a wonderful delicate crown, these drooping branches (afar) can be 1 m or even longer. But they are not native of Caucasus. They come from the Himalayas, where they are known to be the official national tree of Bhutan and maybe the tallest Asian tree.

By the way, there was a “precise” Latin name on the label, but it was obsolete: either Cupressus corneyana, or Cupressus torulosa var. corneyana. I could not find exact modern name of the species — maybe it`s Cupressus cashmeriana, or Cupressus tortulosa, or Cupressus torulosa.

So, adding to the previous comment about Camellias — life is too complex to dare say something about it unambigously :). Anyway, all these species are Himalayan, so I don`t think I told something wrong :).

Photo by Andrei Katrovskiy

St. Petersburg Botanical Garden

genus Cypress Cupressus