''Callitris'' is a genus 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 sin ...

ous

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in the

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae or the cypress family is a family of conifers. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecio ...

(cypress family). There are 16 recognized species in the genus, of which 13 are native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the other three (''C. neocaledonica, C. sulcata'' and ''C. pancheri'') native to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. Traditionally, the most widely used common name is cypress-pine, a name shared by some species of the closely related genus ''

Actinostrobus ''Actinostrobus'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). Common names include cypress, sandplain-cypress and cypress-pine, the last of these shared by the closely related genus '' Callitris''. Species There are thre ...

''.Eckenwalder, J.E. 2009. ''Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference''. Timber Press. p. 122-124

Description

They are small to medium-sized

s or large

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, reaching tall (to in '' C. macleayana''). The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

and scale-like, but young seedlings have needle-like leaves; in '' C. macleayana'', needle-like leaves are found mixed with scale leaves throughout the tree's life. The scales are arranged in six rows along the twigs, in alternating whorls of three (often in whorls of four in ''C. macleayana''). The male

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

are small, long, and are located at the tips of the twigs. The female cones start out similarly inconspicuous, maturing in 18–20 months to long and wide, globular to ovoid (acute in ''C. macleayana''), with six overlapping, thick, woody scales, arranged in two whorls of three (often 8 scales in ''C. macleayana''). The cones remain closed on the trees for many years, opening only after being scorched by a

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

; this then releases the

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s to grow on the newly cleared burnt ground.

Taxonomy

The genus is divided into two sections, with the atypical '' C. macleayana'' in sect. ''Octoclinis'', and all the other species in sect. ''Callitris''. Some botanists treat ''C. macleayana'' in a separate genus, as ''Octoclinis macleayana''. ''C. macleayana'' is also distinct in occurring in

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

on the east coast of Australia; the other species all grow on dry sites. The closest relative of ''Callitris'' is ''

'' from southwest

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, which differs in its cones having several basal whorls of small sterile scales. A 2010 study of ''Actinostrobus'' and ''Callitris'' places the three species of ''Actinostrobus'' within an expanded ''Callitris'' based on analysis of 42 morphological and anatomical characters. In 2010, early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

fossilised foliage and cones of ''Callitris'' were unearthed near the

Lea River The River Lea is a steep continuous river located in the north-western region of Tasmania, Australia. The river has an average gradient of and a peak grade of that flows from Lake Lea to Lake Gairdner (Tasmania), Lake Gairdner. The river fl ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The fossils were given the name ''Callitris leaensis'' and represent the oldest known representative of the genus.

Species

The genus includes the following species: * '' Callitris baileyi'' – SE QLD, NE

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

* '' Callitris canescens'' – S WA, S SA * ''

Callitris columellaris ''Callitris columellaris'' is a species of coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), native to most of Australia. Common names include white cypress, white cypress-pine, Murray River cypress-pine, Bribie Island pine and norther ...

'' – south-east QLD (coastal); naturalised in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and southern Florida. Previously synonymous with ''C. glaucophylla'', ''C. endlicheri'' and ''C. intratropica''. * '' Callitris drummondii'' – S WA * '' Callitris endlicheri'' –

, QLD, VIC (hilly areas); naturalised in Hawaii and

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

* ''

Callitris glaucophylla ''Callitris'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are 16 recognized species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other three (''C. neocaledonica, C. sulcata'' and ''C. p ...

'' - NSW, Qld, SA, NT, WA (most common) * '' Callitris gracilis'' - SA, VIC, NSW * '' Callitris intratropica'' - NT (blue cypress) * '' Callitris macleayana'' – QLD,

* '' Callitris monticola'' – QLD,

* '' Callitris muelleri'' –

* '' Callitris neocaledonica'' –

* '' Callitris oblonga'' –

, TAS * '' Callitris pancheri'' –

* '' Callitris preissii'' – SA,

VIC Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...

, WA,

* '' Callitris rhomboidea'' –

, QLD,

, TAS, naturalised on New Zealand's North Island * '' Callitris roei'' – S WA * '' Callitris sulcata'' –

* '' Callitris tuberculata'' – S WA * '' Callitris verrucosa'' – SA,

, WA,

, QLD

Doubtful names

The following names are of doubtful validity: * ''Callitris arenosa'' Sweet, nom. inval., nom. nud., type not cited, identity uncertain. * ''Callitris columellaris'' f. ''glauca'' F.M.Bailey, described from Qld, type not located, identity uncertain (Hill, 1998). * ''Callitris conglobata'' Heynh., nom. inval., nom. nud, described from New Holland, type not located, identity uncertain. * ''Callitris elegans'' Heynh. (or Sieber ex Heynh.), nom. inval., nom. nud, described from " New Holland", type not located, identity uncertain. * ''Callitris intermedia R.T.Baker & H.G.Sm., nom. inval., identity uncertain (Hill, 1998). * ''Callitris montana'' Heynh., nom. inval., nom. nud, described from New Holland, type not located, identity uncertain. * ''Callitris pyramidalis'' Sweet, nom. inval., nom. nud, syn. ''Frenela pyramidalis'' (Sweet) Parl., nom. inval., nom. nud, type not cited, identity uncertain. * ''Callitris macrocarpa'' Vent., nom. inval. nom. nud, syn ''Cupressus macrocarpa'' (Vent.) A.Cunn., nom. inval., identity uncertain.

Human use

The wood of cypress-pines is light, soft and aromatic. It can be easily split and resists decay; cypress-pine is also

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

resistant. It is used to make furniture, indoor and outdoor paneling, and fence posts. Cypress-pines are occasionally planted as ornamental trees, but their use is restricted by the high risks imposed by their very high flammability in bushfires. Previously a plantation of ''C. intratropica'' was established outside of Darwin for use in house construction. After Cyclone Tracey it was realised that the timber did not resist strong winds and the plantation was abandoned. The trees are now used for the production of a blue essential oil, rich in guaiol and chamazulene (the blue compound). A number of therapeutic effects are attributed to the essential oil, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.

References

External links

Gymnosperm Database - ''Callitris''

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2246875 Conifer genera pl:Cyprzyk