The islands are home to the Ta'an Forest, with a wide variety of large endemic trees, including the Sitka spruce, western red cedar, yellow cedar ( Nootka cypress ), shore pine, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and red alder.
12.
"Cupressus nootkatensis " is one of the parents of the Monterey Cypress, is also in genus " Cupressus ", the ready formation of this hybrid is a further argument for the placement of the Nootka Cypress close to " Cupressus ".
13.
The fast-growing hybrid Leyland cypress, much used in gardens, draws one of its parents from this genus ( Nootka cypress, is also sometimes classified in this genus, or else in the separate genus " Xanthocyparis ", but in the past more usually in " Chamaecyparis ".
14.
In historic preservation it can be used as a substitute for " Thuja plicata " ( Western Red Cedar ) and " Taxodium distichum " ( Baldcypress ), due to current difficulties in obtaining quality timber of those species due to environmental concern and past over-exploitation, although this applies equally to Nootka Cypress.
15.
More recently, Farjon " et al . " ( 2002 ) transferred it to a new genus " Xanthocyparis ", together with the newly discovered Vietnamese golden cypress " Xanthocyparis vietnamensis "; this species is remarkably similar to Nootka Cypress and the treatment has many arguments in its favour, as while they are not related to " Chamaecyparis ", neither do they fit fully in " Cupressus " despite the many similarities.
