There are a few of these trees in the Jephson Gardens, and this one is by the entrance to the park (Parade entrance) and is a common but imposing tree, if slightly sombre! It can grow to 45 metres.There are hundreds of varieties but not many are left in the wild. It’s fronds are so dense that you can’t see the trunk, which is one way of identifying it. It has small green cones.
Lawson cypress has rot-resistant wood which makes it popular in places like Japan for coffins and shrines.
It’s proper name is Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, but is also known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress and is a species of conifer in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to 1,500 m in the valleys of the Klamath Mountains, often along streams.