plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
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 else ...
to New Caledonia, where it occurs in small, scattered population along rivers. It used to be placed in its own genus ''Neocallitropsis'' but molecular phylogenetic analysis indicated that it was nested within ''Callitris''.Pye, M. G., P. A. Gadek, and K. J. Edwards (2003). Divergence, Diversity and Species of the Australasian Callitris (Cupressaceae) and Allied Genera : Evidence from ITS Sequence Data. Australian Systematic Botany 16: 505–14.
It is an
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...
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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
growing to tall. The leaves are awl-shaped, long, arranged in eight rows in alternating
whorls
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...
of four; in overall appearance, the foliage is superficially similar to some species of '' Araucaria'', though they are only very distantly related. ''Callitris pancheri'' is dioecious, with separate male and female trees; the
seed cones
A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...
are long, with eight woody scales arranged in two whorls of four.
Neocallitropsis pancheri.jpg, ''Callitris pancheri'' foliage and branch
Neocallitropsis pancheri 2a.jpg, ''Callitris pancheri'' at Chutes de la Madeleine, New Caledonia