''Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii'', commonly known as the Blue Mountains pine or dwarf mountain 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

Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

. It is found only in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

. The entire natural habitat is in the Blue Mountains, from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls, growing almost exclusively in the splash zones of waterfalls, and on the southern aspect of sandstone nearby. It was first described by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in his 1881 work ''Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' as ''Dacrydium fitzgeraldii'', naming it after its collector, one R. Fitzgerald. It was renamed ''Microstrobos fitzgeraldii'' by Lawrie Johnson and Garden in 1951, and ''Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii'' by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1882. ''Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii'' grows as a small shrub to 1 m (3 ft) high. The branchlets droop and bear tiny narrow leaves 2 or 3 mm in length. Only 7 populations, containing a total of 455 individual plants are known. This conifer may be threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, due to increased urbanization on the plateau. In the past hundred years, stream water quality has deteriorated, due to

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

in the Blue Mountains. However, the population of ''Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii'' seems to have been stable over the last fifty years.

Sources

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3023272 Pinales of Australia Podocarpaceae Endangered flora of Australia Flora of New South Wales Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller