Callitris endlicheri

Scientific name: Callitris endlicheri (Parlatore) F.M. Bailey 1883

Synonyms: Callitris calcarata R.Br. ex F.Muell., Callitris pyramidalis Sweet, Frenela calcarata A.Cunn. ex Mirb., Frenela endlicheri Parl., Frenela endlicheri var. mucronata (Parl.) Benth., Frenela gunnii var. mucronata Parl., Frenela rigida Endl., Juniperus ericoides Nois. ex Desf., Juniperus rigida Nois. ex Desf.

Common names: Black cypress pine, Black cypress-pine, Black pine, Mountain pine, Murray pine, Red cypress, Red cypress-pine, Red pine, Scrub pine

Description

Tree to 15(-25) m tall, with trunk to 1 m in diameter. Bark dark brown, deeply furrowed, with narrow ridges. Crown conical, open, with horizontal or gently upraised branches. Branchlets three-winged. Juvenile leaves gradually giving way to adult foliage through transitional leaf forms. Adult leaves, including bases, 1-3(-4) mm long, sometimes with a bristly tip, yellow-green to dark green or occasionally somewhat waxy, with a prominent, rounded keel. Pollen cones mostly single, 1.5-3 mm long, with three to six trios of pollen scales, each scale with two to four pollen sacs. Seed cones single, or in small clusters, on slender stalks, persisting after maturity, roughly spherical, 15-20 mm in diameter, with a three-lobed central column, the lobes sometimes separate, spreading 2-8 mm across. Scales with a small but distinct triangular swelling near the tip, otherwise smooth, separating to near the base. Seeds five to nine on each scale, brown to black, sometimes waxy, the body 3-6 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, with two slightly unequal wings about as long as the body, (0-)2-5 mm wide. The species name commemorates Stephan Endlicher (1804-1849), an Austro-Hungarian botanist who explored southeastern Australia and described many of its plants.

Southeastern Australia from southeastern Queensland through New South Wales to northeastern Victoria. Open woodlands and forests with Eucalyptus and Acacia on stony hills and ridges; (100-)250-750(-1,200) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

This species is assessed as Least Concern due to its extensive distribution. Locally common and sometimes dominant.

Usually found on poor soils on stony hills or ridges.

Previously used for fencing and other rural uses. Limited harvesting still occurs in parts of its range. Sometimes used for craft work.

This species occurs in numerous national parks and other protected areas as well as in fragments of native vegetation on private land. One subpopulation on the Woronora Plateau in New South Wales is listed as endangered due to repeated fires. This subpopulation represents the coastal limit of the species' range and is disjunct from other known populations of the species. Woronora Plateau is also the wettest area (in terms of mean annual rainfall) from which records are known, with the majority of subpopulations occurring in substantially drier climates on the western slopes and plains, and drier parts of the coastal ranges.

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland

Top