Athrotaxis cupressoides

Location & distribution maps

Plant description

Common name:         Pencil Pine  

• The common name is based on it being an evergreen conical-shaped tree 

• This shape is most prominent when found in subalpine or open alpine vegetation

• However, it can also occur as a rainforest tree

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• The name Athrotaxis is derived from the Greek words athros meaning crowded and taxis meaning arrangement

• The species name cupressoides in Greek means ‘resembling cypress’

Cones and seed:                            

• Two forms of woody cones act as the gametophyte structures, which mature approximately six months after pollination and are typically retained on the tree for up to one year

• The female cones are spherical with pointed bract scales 12–15 mm in diameter

• The male cones are much smaller 3–5 mm in diameter

Leaves:         

• As with all species in the Athrotaxis genus, A. cupressoides’ leaves are single-veined and arranged in spirals

• The leaves are 2-3mm long/wide, overlapping and closely compressed stem

• This results in a scale like appearance.

Stem & branches: 

• Trunk up to 1.5m in diameter

• Bark is light brown and fibrous, becoming more furrowed with age

Roots:         

Habit:        

• An erect shrub or tree which grows up to 20m

• Trees can live for upwards of 1000 years, sustaining a very slow growth rate of approximately 12 mm in diameter per year

Habitat:   

• Typically Athrotaxis cupressoides are found in subalpine or open alpine vegetation

• When found in montane rainforests (also known as cool temperate rainforests) A. cupressoides dominates

• These environments are typically composed of:

  • a canopy containing Athrotaxis cupressoides, and Athrotaxis selaginoides (king billy pine)

  • an understory containing Nothofagus cunninghamii (myrtle beech) and Phyllocladus aspleniifolius (celery-top pine)

  • a shrub layer containing Olearia pinifolius (prickly daisybush) and Richea species,

  • a ground covering of Astelia alpine (pineapple grass), Empodisma minus (spreading rope rush) and Gleichenia alpina (alpine coral fern)

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Tasmania

• Endemic native to Tasmania

• Is distribution is primarily in the central and western mountain areas between 700 and 1300m above sea level, often around tarns or damp depressions on peaty or wet-rocky soils

• Locations include; the Central Plateau, the Great Western Tier, Mt. Field National Park, the westward mountains such as Cradle Mountain and scattered on the south of the island

Additional notes:     

• Hybrids

  • In regions where both A. cupressoides and A. selaginoides grow a third hybrid species can occasionally be found.

  •  These two species are so closely related they form the hybrid Athrotaxis x laxifolia

• Threats

  • Dead trunks and branches of Athrotaxis cupressoides 30–40 years after a bush fire

  • Athrotaxis cupressoides is a highly fire sensitive species, hence the oldest and most vigorous populations are located in damp regions

  • Major fires at the Walls of Jerusalem National Park and the Central Plateau Conservation Area during the summer of 1960–1961, and again in 2016, severely affected and reduced the population

  • The species’ poor adaption to fire and the added stress of regeneration being hampered by grazing animals makes recovery from these incidents difficult

  • Animals such as sheep, rabbits and native marsupials, have been observed to eat the seedlings, suckers and adult foliage leaving significant impact on the plants

  • Loss of  populations is largely irreversible given the relatively high fuel loads of postfire vegetation communities that are dominated by resprouting shrubs

  • A. cupressoides is expected to contract to only the most fire-proof landscapes, given the regeneration failures and increased flammability together with an expected drier and warmer climate

  • Signs of die back have also been associated with disease caused by an introduced strain of Phytophthora

• Taxonomy

  • Its was previously under the family Taxodiaceae, which has now been merged with Cupressaceae

• Uses

  • Athrotaxis cupressoides currently has no recorded uses

  • The trunks are gnarled and unsuitable for uses as timber

  • The species is, however, occasionally grown and sold as an ornamental

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athrotaxis_cupressoides (2023)