Arizona cypress or Monterey cypress: how to tell them apart?
Arizona cypress and Monterey cypress look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Arizona cypress
Cupressus arizonica
Monterey cypress
Cupressus macrocarpa
The Monterey cypress has light green to golden foliage and a broader, conical outline, whereas the Arizona cypress has very marked silvery-blue foliage and a narrow, regular habit.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, fine scales covering the shoots, grey-blue, giving off a resinous smell when crushed
Foliage of tightly packed scales, aromatic when crushed (lemon scent), bright green or vivid golden in the cultivar 'Goldcrest'
🌸 Flowers
Small yellowish male cones at the tips of the shoots
Inconspicuous yellowish male cones at the tips of the shoots in the depths of winter
🍎 Fruits
Small round cones with thick scales, grey-brown
Rounded woody cones 2-3 cm across, with bumpy scales, green then greyish-brown when ripe
🪵 Bark
Red-brown, peeling in long fibrous strips on older specimens
Reddish-brown bark that cracks into broad longitudinal plates with age
📏 Size
10 to 20 m tall
Up to 20-25 m as a mature specimen in the open, often kept at 1-3 m in a pot or clipped hedge
🗺️ Habitat
Planted as a screening hedge or as a specimen, valued for its bluish foliage and drought resistance
Planted as a specimen, as a windbreak hedge or as a small potted plant (cultivar 'Goldcrest') in gardens and garden centres throughout France
⚠️ Toxicity
—
Not notably toxic
🔎 And from the Monterey cypress side
The Arizona cypress has very marked silvery-blue foliage and a narrow, regular habit, whereas the Monterey cypress has light green to golden foliage and a broader, conical outline.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.