''Widdringtonia wallichii'', Clanwilliam cedar or Clanwilliam cypress, previously ''Widdringtonia cedarbergensis'' is a species of ''

Widdringtonia ''Widdringtonia'' is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). The name was Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Widdrington (1787� ...

'' native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, where it is

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 the

Cederberg Mountains The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree end ...

northeast of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. It is 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 ...

Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and ''Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pauw, C. A. & Linder, H. P. 1997. ''Widdringtonia'' systematics, ecology and conservation status. ''Bot. J. Linn. Soc.'' 123: 297-319. and protected in South Africa under the National Forest Act (Act 84) of 1998. It is a small

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 5–7 m (rarely to 20 m) tall. The leaves are scale-like, 1.5 mm long and 1 mm broad on small shoots, up to 15 mm long on strong-growing shoots, and arranged in opposite decussate pairs. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are globose to rectangular, 2–3 cm long, with four scales.

Chemical constituents

The essential oil derived from leaves contains

terpinen-4-ol Terpinen-4-ol is an isomer of terpineol with the chemical formula C10H18O. A primary constituent of tea tree oil, it is obtained as an extract from the leaves, branches, and bark of ''Melaleuca alternifolia'' Cheel. Despite considerable basic and ...

(36.0%),

sabinene Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Marjoram, holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''). It has a strained ...

(19.2%), γ-terpinene (10.4%), α-terpinene (5.5%) and

myrcene Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is a monoterpene. A colorless oil, it occurs widely in essential oils. It is produced mainly semi-synthetically from '' Myrcia'', from which it gets its name. It is an intermediate in the production of several fragrances. ...

(5.5%). The wood oil contains

thujopsene Thujopsene is a natural chemical compound, classified as a sesquiterpene, with the molecular formula C15H24. Thujopsene is found in the essential oil of a variety of conifers, in particular '' Juniperus cedrus'' and '' Thujopsis dolabrata'' i ...

(47.1%),

α-cedrol Cedrol is a sesquiterpene alcohol found in the essential oil of conifers ( cedar oil), especially in the genera ''Cupressus'' (cypress) and ''Juniperus'' (juniper). It has also been identified in ''Origanum onites'', a plant related to oregano. Its ...

(10.7%), widdrol (8.5%) and cuparene (4.0%).

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q17275235 Afromontane flora wallichii Trees of South Africa Protected trees of South Africa Endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Taxa named by Élie-Abel Carrière