Mentioned in the Bible and in the 8000-year-old epic Gilgamesh, Lebanon’s iconic cedars have been reduced to a fraction of their former range by centuries of logging. Ari Daniel Shapiro walks the Shouf Cedar Reserve to learn how scientists are working to save the last remaining trees from a more insidious threat—climate change. The answer may surprise you. Another version of this podcast is available on Public Radio International's The World. read moreDuration: 5:30Published: Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:11:45 +0000
The Mexican Cypress, native from Mexico to Honduras but planted widely and naturalized. Photo from the Santa Marta Mountains of northeastern Colombia. In context at www.dixpix.ca/meso_america/Flora/primitive/index.html
Monterey Cypress or MacrocarpaCupressaceae Status: VulnerableEndemic to the Central Coast of California and restricted to two small populations, the Del Monte Forest and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. However, it is widely used in landscaping outside its natural range in California and other places in the world.Many of the Monterey cypress have lichens draping from the branches, which reminds me of the Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)* hanging from bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the southern USA.www.flickr.com/photos/23715954@N02/2443355491/www.flickr.com/photos/lbricephoto/2944536690/_____* Interestingly, the specific epithet or species name usneoides means "resembling Usnea." Although Spanish moss does resemble beard moss (Usnea spp.), the two species are totally unrelated.
Mexican cypressCupressaceae (Cypress family)Native to the mountains of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and HondurasIntroduced to the Hawaiian IslandsOahu (Cultivated)
