Practical
Plants

Callitris columellaris

White Cypress-Pine

a perennial woody evergreen member of the Callitris genus in the family Cupressaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Woodiness
woody
Height
20 m
Flower type
monoecious

Uses

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A resin obtained from the stumps of felled trees or the cut logs is used as a coating for pills[2]. The bark contains 11 - 23% dry weight of tannin[1][3]. Wood - resinous, very aromatic, very durable, brittle, very flammable, hard, close grained. Used for construction. furniture making, cabinet making, fencing, ship building etc[1][2][5].

Product or use
Fuel
Product or use
Resin
Product or use
Tannin
Product or use
Wood

Ecology and functions

Ecosystem niche
Secondary canopy

Environment

Range
Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria.
Habitat
Light soils, occasionally near the coast, but usually in dry inland areas up to the montane zone[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerances
drought
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
tolerant
Salinity
tolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - does not require stratification, germinating at any time of the year if it becomes moist[6]. Sow in early spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a dry sandy coastal soil in full sun, succeeding in saline soils[6]. A very drought tolerant plant once established[7][6]. This species can tolerate temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[4] but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Some reports say that plants can succeed outdoors in the very mildest areas of this country[1][7] but another report places this species in hardiness zone 10, which would mean that it is not frost tolerant and could only be grown with winter protection[6]. The plants are highly inflammable and are usually killed by forest fires. However, they store their seeds in unopened cones on the tree for many years, these seeds are released after a fire and then germinate freely[6].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants.

    ↩1↩2↩3

  3. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney 1981-00-00 ISBN 0-00-216441-8

    ↩

  4. Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988-00-00 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0

    ↩

  5. Holliday. I. and Hill. R. A Field Guide to Australian Trees. Frederick Muller Ltd. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-85179-627-3

    ↩

  6. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  7. Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987-00-00 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X

    ↩1↩2

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