Canopy of tree in closed forest, Port Maquarie, New South Wales [Trevor Hinchliffe, ].

Tree in closed forest [Trevor Hinchliffe, ].

Mature foliage of tree in Port Maquarie, New South Wales [Trevor Hinchliffe, ].

Juvenile foliage and female cone of tree in Port Maquarie, New South Wales [Trevor Hinchliffe, ].

Bark of tree in Port Maquarie, New South Wales [Trevor Hinchliffe, ].

Distribution of Callitris macleayana (Bowman and Harris 1995). Basemap from Expedia Maps.

Common Names

Stringybark pine (Harden 1990), brush cypress pine (Ash 1983b), Port Macquarie pine.

Taxonomic notes

Syn: C. parlatorei (Silba 1986).

Description

A straight tree growing up to 40 m tall. Bark is subfibrous, furrowed. Branches are spreading. Mature leaves are 2-3 mm long, dorsal surface acutely keeled; juvenile leaves 10-15 mm long, sharp-pointed, often remaining even on shoots bearing cones (see photo). Cones, 20-30 mm in diameter, are solitary on thick fruiting branchlets, remaining on the branches long after maturity. Cone scales 6 (8 if borne on juvenile branches), each scale with a small dorsal point near the apex; columella very short, 3-lobed or 3-partite or 4-lobed in cones on juvenile branches (Harden 1990).

Range

Australia: New South Wales and Queensland. It grows in two regions; one from Newcastle in NSW to SE Queensland, and the other in higher altitudes of north-east Queensland in the Atherton and Mt. Windsor Tablelands. This species prefers moist habitats, close to rainforest, and usually is found growing in poor soils (Iedema [no date]).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

"Growth rings were examined in trees of Callitris macleayana from the Atherton Tableland in Queensland, Australia. The climate is tropical with a distinct dry season that induces regular annual growth rings. A correlation of 0.74 was found between annual ring widths and the duration of the wet seasons. The potential of this species for dendrochronological study is apparent" (Ash 1983b). As of 22-Jan-2002, some interesting work is being done by Ingo Heinrich at Australian National University, but I gather nothing has yet been published.

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

See Also

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.

Hauser, J. 1992. Fragments of green - an identification field guide for rainforest plants of the greater Brisbane region. Queensland: Rainforest Conservation Society.

Nicholson, Nan and Hugh. 1985, 1988, 1991,1994. Australian Rainforest Plants I, II, III & IV. Australia: Terania Rainforest Publishing.