Cupressaceae

Calocedrus decurrens

Incense-cedar

Look for: 
- a tall, conical tree with a single thick trunk,
- cinnamon-red bark with flat plates in vertical strips,
- flat sprays of foliage with small yellow pollen cones at the tips, 
- tiny, scale-like leaves that are longer than they are wide,
- long seed cones that look like the beak of a duck.

Cupressaceae

Cupressus sempervirens 'Stricta'

Italian cypress

Look for: 
- a tall, columnar, evergreen tree,
- scale-like leaves,
- slender cordlike branch tips,
- spherical, woody seed cones, 
- foliage that has little or no aroma when crushed.

Cupressaceae

Juniperus chinensis 'Kaizuka'

Hollywood juniper

Look for: 
- A small, compact tree, 
- cloudlike tufts of foliage that seem to swirl upwards, 
- tiny leaves that overlap to form cylindrical "green string,"
- bark that exfoliates in thin, gray sheets,
- red branches that vaguely resemble Governor Schwarzenegger's biceps.

Cupressaceae

Juniperus conferta

Shore juniper

Look for:
- A prostrate, mat-like evergreen shrub,
- awl-like needles arranged in regular whorls of three along the stem,
- foliage having a blue inner surface and a green outer surface,
- gray-blue "juniper berries."

- white band

- stays short

Cupressaceae

Platycladus orientalis

Oriental arborvitae

Look for: 
- a shrub or tree with flat sprays of foliage that are held vertically,
- multiple trunks coming out of a single base,
- fibrous brown bark, 
- tiny, scale-like leaves that are about as long as they are wide,
- waxy, blue-green seed cones with 6 prominent curved "horns."

Pinaceae

Cedrus deodara

Deodar cedar

Look for: 
- A large, pyramidal tree with a single trunk,
- 5 cm needles that are whorled around the tips of little spurs off the main branches,
- pendulous new growth that makes the top of the tree droop to one side,
- barrel-shaped female cones perched upright along the branches.

Pinaceae

Pinus canariensis

Canary Island pine

Look for: 
- a large, erect tree (20-30m high) with a single vertical trunk,
- pendulous, bright green needles (3 per fascicle, 20-30cm x 1mm), 
- occasional patches of blue-green juvenile foliage with shorter needles,
- plates of reddish-brown bark, cut by deep vertical grooves that show the layers.

Pinaceae

Pinus pinea

Italian stone pine

Look for: 
- a tall tree (20m high) with upswept branches forming a dense canopy,
- stiff, gray-green needles (2 per fascicle, 12-15cm x 1mm), 
- orange-brown, deeply fissured bark,
- large, heavy, almost-spherical cones.

- brick red - "stone"

Pinaceae

Pinus torreyana

Torrey Pine

Look for: 
- A large evergreen tree with upswept branches,
- stiff gray-green needles (5 per fascicle, 20-30cm x 2mm),
- flat, gray bark that is constantly flaking off.

Taxaceae

Taxus spp.

Yew

Look for: 
- A dense shrub or small tree,
- uniform, dark green foliage with no thorns or sharp points,
- linear, flattened needles (usually 2-3cm x 3mm), 
- (if you're lucky) bright red arils holding the seeds.

Taxodiaceae

Cunninghamia lanceolata

China fir

Look for: 
- An evergreen tree with branches in whorls,
- stiff, lanceolate needles (3-7cm x 5mm) with finely serrate margins,
- upper needle surfaces that are solid dark green or green with 2 white stripes,
- lower needle surfaces that have 2 wide blue-white stomatal bands, 
- large seed cones that hang like ornaments at the ends of the branches.

Taxodiaceae

Sequoia sempervirens

Coast redwood

Look for: 
- A tall, narrow tree with a single thick trunk,
- soft, red bark that is frayed like old cloth,
- flattened, shiny needles that arch out from opposite sides of the twigs,
- small male pollen cones at the tips of the branches,
- barrel-shaped female cones that dry from green.

Cycadaceae

Cycas revoluta

Sago Palm

Look for: 
- A cycad with a central trunk topped by a whorl of stiff,

- pinnately compound leaves,
- leaves that are deep green, semiglossy,

- leaves 50-150 cm long, with 100-240 leaflets,
- basal leaflets that are reduced to spines (10-20 mm long).

Ginkgoaceae

Ginkgo biloba

Maidenhair tree, ginkgo

Look for: 
- fan-shaped leaves with parallel veins,
- leaves that appear in clumps on short spurs off the main branches,
- (on female trees) plum-like seeds in fleshy seed coats that

- fruit ripens from green to orange and smell like rancid butter.

Ephedraceae

Ephedra spp.

Joint fir, desert tea, Mormon tea

Look for: 
- a jumbled mass of narrow green stems, 
- very tiny brown leaves whorled at the joints,
- small pollen and seed cones (generally on separate plants),
- bright red, fleshy bracts surrounding the mature seeds.