Port Orford Cedar: Conifer (but not a true cedar), evergreen tree, 40-60 ft (12-18 m) tall, (180 ft in wild), narrow, pyramidal, buttressed trunk. Short ascending branches, drooping at the tips. Flattened frond-like twigs are arranged horizontally, developing white "X" markings on the underside. Leaves closely pressed in opposite pairs, lateral pair keel-shaped and overlapping smaller facial pair. Cones numerous and globose (round or spherical shape), 8 mm across. Sun or partial shade. Prefers well-drained, moist soil; shelter from winds. It is being attacked by a root rot fungus, Phytophthora lateralis, which is devastating the species in the US. Because of this, and susceptibility to other diseases, it is difficult to grow in much of the US. Phytophthora lateralis is not present in Europe and Phytophthora does not seem to be a major problem in England, since hundreds of cultivars are thriving there (Am. Nur., Aug., 1995). Nearly 300 types or cultivars have been selected from this species, many more than from any other conifer (Krüsmann, "Culitvated Conifers", p. 70). Some cultivators lose their distinctive characteristics as they age, making them difficult to identify. Zone 5 Its native range is along the coast in southwestern Oregon (the town of Port Orford is in the center of the range) and isolated areas of northwestern California. lawsoniana: after Charles Lawson, a nurseryman in Edinburgh, Scotland, raised it from the original introduction in 1845. Commonly called the Lawson Falsecypress in England and Europe.