Cypress
tree name applied to many plants of different genera
Cypress is a name used for many trees and shrubs in the conifer family Cupressaceae (cypress family).
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Taxodium_ascendens_in_the_Black_Water%2C_Okefenokee.jpg/250px-Taxodium_ascendens_in_the_Black_Water%2C_Okefenokee.jpg)
The name comes from the genus Cupressus which survives today as a conifer tree. About 30 cypress species survive.
Many cypress trees have needle-like, evergreen foliage and acorn-like seed cones.
Their earlier relatives were very common in the forests of the Jurassic period.