''Papuacedrus papuana'' is a species in the
conifer
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 ext ...
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, subdioeci ...
, the sole species in the genus ''Papuacedrus''. Some botanists do not consider this species as forming a distinct genus, but include it in the related genus ''
Libocedrus''. It is native to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
and to the Indonesian Province of
Maluku.
[
It is usually a medium-sized to large ]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 ...
16–50 m tall, at high elevations only a shrub
A shrub (often also called a 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 tree ...
reaching up to 3 m). The foliage is borne in flat sprays, with the leaves
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
scale-like, in opposite pairs, with facial and lateral pairs alternating; the lateral leaves are larger, 2–3 mm long on mature trees and up to 20 mm long on young trees, the facial leaves smaller, 1 mm on mature trees and up to 8 mm on young trees. The cones are 1–2 cm long, with four scales, a small, sterile basal pair, and a larger fertile pair; the fertile scales each bearing two winged seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
s.
The species has two varieties
Variety may refer to:
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Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
, most readily distinguishable as young plants with juvenile leaves (the adult foliage being nearly indistinguishable):
* ''Papuacedrus papuana'' var. ''papuana'' (syn. ''Libocedrus papuana'' F.Muell., ''Libocedrus torricellensis'' Schltr., ''Papuacedrus torricellensis'' (Schltr.) H.L.Li). New Guinea, east of 138°E longitude; 620–3,800 m elevation. Juvenile leaves with a spreading, hook-like apex.
* ''Papuacedrus papuana'' var. ''arfakensis'' ( Gibbs) R.J.Johns (syn. ''Libocedrus arfakensis'' Gibbs, ''Papuacedrus arfakensis'' (Gibbs) H.L.Li). New Guinea, west of 138°E longitude, Moluccas; 700–2,400 m elevation. Juvenile leaves not spreading, the apex not free from the shoot.
A fossil species, ''Papuacedrus prechilensis,'' is known from the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
of Argentina.
References
Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q133224
Cupressaceae
Monotypic conifer genera
Least concern plants
Trees of New Guinea
Trees of the Maluku Islands