Scientific name: Phyllocladus aspleniifolius (Labillardière) J.Hooker 1845

Synonyms: Brownetera aspleniifolia (Labill.) Tratt., Phyllocladus billardierei Mirb., Phyllocladus glaucus Carrière, Phyllocladus rhomboidalis Rich., Phyllocladus serratifolius Nois. ex Henkel & Hochst., Podocarpus aspleniifolius Labill., Thalamia asplenifolia (Labill.) Spreng.

Common names:Celery-top pine

Description

Tree to 20(-30) m tall, with a cylindrical, straight trunk to 1 m in diameter. Bark thin 20 mm, marked by numerous warty lenticels, reddish brown to dark brown and smooth at first, thickening, weathering gray to very dark gray, breaking up into rectangular scales, and finally becoming deeply furrowed with age. Crown dense and conical in youth, becoming more open and irregularly cylindrical to dome-shaped, with short, slender, branches passing from upwardly angled to downswept. Phylloclades attached singly or in rings of two to five on the long shoots, simple, (1.5-)2.5-5(-8) cm long, shiny dark green. Individual phylloclades generally diamond-shaped overall, mostly shallowly toothed in the upper half (coarsely toothed in juveniles) but varying to deeply lobed. Juvenile leaves (1.5-)7-10 mm long. Scale leaves of adult long shoots and buds 2-3 mm long. Plants monoecious or sometimes dioecious. Pollen cones single or in clusters of two or three (to five) at the tip of a short branchlet. Each cone 3-5 mm long, 1-2 mm thick, green to pink or yellow just before shedding pollen, on a very short stalk 1-2 mm long. Seed cones single or, more commonly, in clusters of (two or) three or four attached to the sides of phylloclades or wholly replacing the expanded portion. Each seed cone roughly spherical, 3-5 mm in diameter, with (one to) three to eight bracts of which one to five are fertile and mature one to three seeds. Bracts swollen, juicy, pink to red at maturity. Seeds hard, greenish black, 2.5-3.5 mm long, enclosed for about three-quarters of their length by a white aril.

Throughout Tasmania (Australia) and a few offshore islands but rare in the northeast and most common in the mountains of the west. Scattered or clumped in the canopy or understory of various mixed cool temperate rain forests, wet sclerophyll forests dominated by Eucalyptus, and low wet forests; 0-750(-1200) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(Phyllocladus aspleniifolius is the most widespread and abundant conifer in Tasmania, occurring in all suitable habitat on the island. This habitat has declined in area as well as in quality due to large-scale clear-cutting and conversion of native forests. Some of this downward trend is still evident. However, the species is abundant in the many protected forests of Tasmania as well as in exploited forests with management that allows the persistence of native trees. Its extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are well beyond the thresholds for a threatened category on the IUCN Red List and it is therefore assessed as Least Concern)

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland