目前全世界扁柏屬成員只有七種，其中有三種生長在北美西岸拿加遜扁柏與羅生氏扁柏、二種分布在日本的花柏與日本扁柏、二種獨產在臺灣的紅檜與臺灣扁柏。這七種扁柏屬的樹木全生長在潮濕的海洋型氣候環境中，據親緣關係研究指出，紅檜與臺灣扁柏並不是最親近的，反而紅檜與日本花柏親緣較近，而臺灣扁柏則與日本扁柏較為親近。

The cypress family consists of seven species, three of which (Atlantic White Cypress, Lawson Cypress, and Yellow-cedar) grow on the west coast of North America, two (Sawara False Cypress and Hinoki False Cypress) in Japan, and two (Taiwan Red and Yellow Cypress) in Taiwan.

臺灣山區「霧林帶」分布在海拔約1500的2500公尺之間，終年濕潤，豐沛霧氣，溫溼度變化和暖，孕育了紅檜與臺灣扁柏等參天巨木及許多珍稀的孑遺動植物，檜木主要生長期間，又被稱為「檜林帶」。臺灣扁柏族群主要在臺灣北部，而中南部則以紅檜較多，所以有「北扁柏、南紅檜」之說。

The cypress in Taiwan can be mainly found in the cloud forest belt between elevations of 1500 m and 2500 m; the climate in this area is moist throughout the year. Taiwan Yellow Cypress are usually seen in North Taiwan while Taiwan Red Cypress in mid-south part of Taiwan.

1896年日本森林學博士本多靜六在參與臺灣山林探險隊攀登玉山途中，卻誤登玉山東峰，意外採集到第一份紅檜標本；1906年臺灣總督府植物調查課進行全臺植物調查時，主任川上瀧彌及探險家森丑之助於玉山山區採集到臺灣扁柏第一份標本。

The specimen of Taiwan Red Cypress was firstly collected by Japanese forestry scholar Seiroku Honda in 1896. The first specimen of Taiwan Yellow Cypress in Taiwan was collected in 1906 by Takiya Kawakami, a plant investigation officer in Governor-General of Taiwan and Mori Ushinosuke, an anthropologist and folklorist.