''Athrotaxis selaginoides'' is a species of ''

Athrotaxis ''Athrotaxis'' is a genus of two to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high altitude temperate rainforests.Farjon, A. (200 ...

'',

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it grows at 400–1,120 m altitude. In its habitat in the mountains, snow in winter is very usual. It is often called King Billy Pine or King William Pine (believed to be in reference to

William Lanne William Lanne (1835 – 3 March 1869), also spelt William Lanné and also known as King Billy or William Laney, was an Aboriginal Tasmanian man, known for being the last " full-blooded" Aboriginal man in the colony of Tasmania. Early lif ...

an Aboriginal man), although it is not a true

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

.Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Description

It is an evergreen

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

tree growing to 20–30 m tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The leaves are claw-like, 7–18 mm long and 3–4 mm broad, arranged spirally on the shoots. The seed cones are globose, 15–30 mm diameter, with 20–30 spirally-arranged scales; they are mature about six months after pollination. The pollen cones are 4–5 mm long.

Decline

The main cause of past decline has been fire, with about one third of its habitat burnt in the twentieth century. Like the other two ''Athrotaxis'' species, ''A. selaginoides'' is sensitive to fire. Another cause of past decline has been logging. The overall decline is estimated to be about 40% over the last 200 years. This is within the three generation time limit where one generation is estimated to be at least 100 years. Although 84% of forests are now in protected areas, fires still are a potential hazard. Tasmanian government policy precludes logging of this species in and outside these protected areas.

Cultivation

Examples of the species can be viewed at

The Tasmanian Arboretum The Tasmanian Arboretum is a botanical tree park (an arboretum) near Devonport, Tasmania, Australia. History The arboretum was incorporated on 16 May 1984. The site originally consisted of 47ha of farmland and remnant forest which was purchas ...

. Away from its native range, it is occasionally cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in northwestern Europe.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins It succeeds in Scotland where it receives the necessary rainfalls for its good growth and produces fertile seeds there.Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 . Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q944853 Cupressaceae Endemic flora of Tasmania Pinales of Australia Trees of Australia Trees of mild maritime climate Ornamental trees Vulnerable flora of Australia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot