Callitris macleayana

Location & distribution maps

Plant description

Common name:         Stringybark pine  

• Also, brush cypress pine and Port Macquarie pine

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• The name ‘callitris’ is derived from the Greek calli (meaning beautiful) and treis (meaning three), because their scale-like leaves are in whorls of three

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Cones and seed:                            

• Cones often occur in solitary on larger fruiting branches, and have 6 scales when borne on mature trees

Leaves:         

• Its juvenile leaves are around 1 cm in length, giving way to mature foliage of 2-3 millimetres; 

Stem & branches: 

• The bark is furrowed

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is a large, straight-trunked tree with spreading branches and up to 40 m in height

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Australia

• It is found in two regions of Australia's East coast, one in the centre and one in the North

• Stringybark pine occurs over much of the central and Northeast coast of Australia with an estimated range of 20,000 km2, although its range is divided in two with a 1500 km gap between the two occurrences

• In the North, it is found in open forests upon humid highlands, mainly among Eucalyptus, Syncarpia, and Corymbia species; in the South

• it is found in wet sclerophyll forests and occasionally in pockets of subtropical rainforest, the latter including Ficus and Podocarpus species

• Within these habitats the stringybark pine prefers exposed locations such as slopes and ridge tops, whilst generally being found in poorer soils

• The tree's limitation to humid sites is in contrast to many other species in the genus, such as Callitris glaucophylla and Callitris endlicheri

• The species has a cold hardiness of -1.1 °C to +4.4 °C, corresponding to hardiness Zone 10

Additional notes:     

Sources of information:

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