Callitris macleayana

Scientific name: Callitris macleayana (F. Mueller) F. Mueller 1860

Synonyms: Callitris parlatorei F.Muell., Frenela macleayana (F.Muell.) Parl., Frenela parlatorei (F.Muell.) F.Muell., Leichhardtia macleayana (F.Muell.) Archer ex Gordon, Octoclinis macleayana F.Muell.

Common names: Stringybark pine, Port Macquarie pine, Brush cypress pine, Brush cypress, Stringybark cypress, Kerosene pine

Description

Tree to 25(-45) m tall, with trunk to 0.6(-1.3) m in diameter, unbranched for much of its height. Bark reddish gray, furrowed, retaining stringy peels. Crown dense, upright, with short branches, or thinner in closed forests. Branchlets triangular. Juvenile foliage with leaves in quartets, the blades 5-8 mm long, gradually shortening through transition foliage but coexisting even on mature trees with adult foliage and then sometimes bearing pollen and seed cones. Adult leaves in trios, 2-3.5 mm long, including the bases, bright green, sharply keeled. Pollen cones 4-8 mm long, with four to seven trios (or quartets on juvenile foliage) of pollen scales, each scale with three or four pollen sacs. Seed cones single on stout stalks, persisting long after maturity, pointed-ovoid, 2-3 cm in diameter, with a very short, three- (or four-) lobed or parted central column 0.1-3 mm long. Scales in quartets when born on juvenile foliage, the inner and outer whorls similar in length and width, divided to near the base, each scale broadly channeled, with a small but distinct point near the tip. Seeds two to four per scale, light brown, the body 3-6 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, with one wing to 6 mm wide and the other 1 mm.

Southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Various forest types but especially rain-forest margins of the Coast Ranges, primarily on sandy soils; (10-)200-800(-1,000) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

Due to its wide distribution and current level of protection, Callitris macleayana is assessed as Least Concern, despite past reductions due to logging and habitat loss. Callitris macleayana occurs in either pure stands or in association with various sclerophyll tree species, often at the margin of rainforests. In northern Queensland it occurs in tall open forest in moist uplands and highlands with Eucalyptus resinifera, Eucalyptus portuensis, Eucalyptus cloeziana, Corymbia intermedia and Syncarpia glomulifera. In New South Wales it occurs in wet sclerophyll forest as well as subtropical rainforest remnants with a range of species including Ficus obliqua, Drypetes australasia, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana and Podocarpus elatus. It is generally restricted to poorer soils and favours gullies, moist slopes and ridgetops. Callitris macleayana is very fire sensitive - at least 25 years between fires is required to ensure its persistence (Clarke 2009). Past logging has reduced the number of larger trees and its overall abundance. Forest clearance for agriculture and pastoralism has also fragmented its habitat and reduced its area of occupancy. Widlfires are probably the major current threat. Selectively logged in the past. Large trees are now relatively rare. Timber has been used for construction (termite and decay resistant) as well as cabinet making. This species is also used in dendrochronology. The northern Queensland localities are all protected within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. In New South Wales this species is known from a number of protected areas.

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