Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Callitris muelleri

Mature cones. Photographer John Tann, Heathcote National Park, Sydney

Tree. Photographer John Tann, Heathcote National Park, Sydney

Line drawings. JH Maiden Forest Flora of NSW (1902-1925) 

Common name

A cypress pine

Family

Cupressaceae

Where found

Forest, shrubland, and rocky places. Ranges north from Morton National Park. Coastal north of Wollongong.

Notes

Tree or shrub to 6 m high, with erect branches. Bark hard and compacted. Leaves aromatic when rubbed. Mature leaves mostly 0.5–1 cm long, in whorls of 3,  hairless, glaucous to green, bases continuing down the stems below the triangular, scale-like leaf tips. Juvenile leaves longer, continuing down the stem below a spreading needle-like upper portion, occasionally remaining on the branches bearing cones. Male and female cones on the same tree. Male cones to 3 mm long, oval, in small clusters at the tips of the leaves. Mature female cones woody, usually depressed-globular, 20–30 mm in diameter. Female cones single or several together on fruiting branchlets, remaining on the branches after maturity. Alternate smaller cone scales narrower, tapering to the tips and usually shorter, larger scales broader and angled above. Seeds numerous, dark brown; wings 2 or 3, 2–4 mm wide.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callitris~muelleri (accessed 7 January, 2021)