Athrotaxis cupressoides

Athrotaxis cupressoides, is also known as pencil pine, despite being a species of the family Cupressaceae, and not a member of the pine family. Found either as an erect shrub or as a tree, this species is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. Trees can live for upwards of 1000 years, sustaining a very slow growth rate of approximately 12 mm in diameter per year. As with all species in the Athrotaxis genus, A. cupressoides’ leaves are single-veined and arranged in spirals. Unique to A. cupressoides the leaves are 2-3mm long/wide, overlapping and closely compressed stem. This results in a scale like appearance. 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. The common name pencil pine is based on it being an evergreen conical-shaped tree which grows up to 20m, with trunks up to 1.5m in diameter. This shape is most prominent when found in subalpine or open alpine vegetation, however it can also occur as a rainforest tree. Bark is light brown and fibrous, becoming more furrowed with age. 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’.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.