Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Elwood's Gold' is a stout, pillar-shaped selection of Lawson cypress with extremely dense branching, and lime-green foliage that flushes bright, golden yellow and retains a burnished golden frosting at the foliage tips into to the autumn. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 4 feet (1.3 m) tall and 2 feet (60 cm) wide, an annual growth rate of 4 to 6 inches (10 - 15 cm).
This cultivar originated as a color sport found in the mid-1960s on a specimen of C. lawsoniana 'Ellwoodii' by R.S. Corley, and introduced to the nursery trade by A.P. Hillier Nursery, Perivale, Greenford, United Kingdom.