''Callitris endlicheri'', commonly known as the black cypress pine, is a species of
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
in the family
Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...
. It is found only in
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 ...
, occurring in
Queensland,
New South Wales, the
Australian Capital Territory, and
Victoria.
Description
''Callitris endlicheri'' is an
evergreen tree growing 5-15 meters tall
with tough, furrowed bark. The branches may be erect or spreading with keeled green leaves measuring 2-4 millimeters long. This species is
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
, with female
cones occurring solitarily or in clusters on slender fruiting branchlets. The cones are smooth, almost spherical, measuring 15-20mm in diameter
and containing a number of sticky seeds coated in
resin. Cones may persist on the tree for a number of years.
Human uses
The
Wiradjuri people of
New South Wales, who use the name ''kara'' to refer to this species, use the trunks of young trees to make spears, the wood and dry needles as kindling, and the resinous sap as a glue and medicine.
It is sometimes logged for commercial purposes.
See also
*
Pine Island Reserve
References
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of Victoria (Australia)
Flora of the Australian Capital Territory
endlicheri
Trees of Australia
Pinales of Australia
Trees of mild maritime climate
Least concern flora of Australia
Least concern biota of Queensland
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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