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Callitris verrucosa

Callitris verrucosa - Mallee pine, Sandhill pine, Scrub cypress pine, Camphor wood, Turpentine pine
  • Callitris verrucosa - Mallee pine, Sandhill pine, Scrub cypress pine, Camphor wood, Turpentine pine - Click to enlarge
  • Callitris verrucosa cones - Click to enlarge
  • Callitris verrucosa leaves - Click to enlarge

Scientific name: Callitris verrucosa  (A. Cunningham ex Endlicher) F.J. Mueller 1860

Synonyms: Callitris preissii subsp. verrucosa (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) J.Garden, Callitris preissii var. verrucosa (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Silba, Callitris preissii subsp. verrucosa (A. Cunn. ex Mirb.) F. Muell., Callitris robusta var. verrucosa (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) F.M.Bailey, Callitris verrucosa (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) R.Br. ex Mirb., Frenela robusta var. verrucosa (A.Cunn. ex Endl.) Benth., Frenela verrucosa A.Cunn. ex Endl., Frenela verrucosa A. Cunn. ex Mirb.

Common names: Mallee pine, Sandhill pine, Scrub cypress pine, Camphor wood, Turpentine pine

 

Description

Shrub, or tree to 8(-15) m tall, usually dividing from the base, with trunk(s) to 0.6 m in diameter. Bark light brown, weathering gray, flaking in scales and becoming thick, stringy, and deeply ridged and furrowed. Crown rounded, spreading, open, with upwardly angled branches. Branchlets cylindrical. Juvenile foliage not persisting in mature plants. Adult leaves, including bases, 2-4 mm long, dark green, yellow-green, or waxy, not keeled. Pollen cones in clusters of (two) or three (to five), 1.5-3.5 mm long, with four to nine trios of pollen scales, each scale with two or three pollen sacs. Seed cones usually single on stout stalks thickening to 10 mm, persisting long after maturity, nearly spherical, 1.5-2.5(-3) cm in diameter, with a simple, short, pyramidal central column 2-3 mm high. Scales with an inconspicuous point below the tip lost among the profusion of small warts 1-2 mm wide that cower the surface (hence the scientific name, Latin for “warty”). Seeds 6-12(-16) on each scale, chestnut to dark brown, the body 2.5-6 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, with two nearly equal wings (1-)2-4(-6) mm wide, slightly longer than the body, sometimes with a third wing to 2 mm wide.

Southern third of mainland Australia from Western Australia to New South Wales. Fire-prone scrublands, primarily on nutrient-poor, sandy soils; (0-)50-200(-300) m.

 

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

As Callitris verrucosa is still widespread and relatively common, it is regarded as Least Concern.

Restricted to semi-arid mallee shrubland communities. Often co-dominant with multistemmed eucalypts.

Relatively large areas of malle scrubland have been cleared for agriculture or converted for pastoralism. Overgrazing by domestic and feral animals is a problem in some areas. Changes in fire frequencies and intensities are also problems in some areas. Limited localised use for fencing.

Known from several large reserves throughout its range.

 

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

Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.

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