Actinostrobus pyramidalis
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| Actinostrobus pyramidalis Miq. |
Actinostrobus pyramidalis, commonly known as swamp cypress, is a species of coniferous tree in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). Like the other species in the genus, it is endemic to southwestern Western Australia.
Swamp cypress is a shrub or small tree, reaching eight metres tall. The leaves are evergreen and scale-like, except on young seedlings, where they are needle-like. The leaves are arranged in six rows along the twigs, in alternating whorls of three. The male cones are small, 3–6 mm long, and are located at the tips of the twigs. The female cones start out similarly inconspicuous, but mature in 18–20 months to 1–2 cm with a rounded apex.
The cones open and release the seeds only upon drying. They tend to remain closed on the trees for many years, opening only if the branch, or the whole tree, dies. Bushfire kills swamp cypress, but it also causes a great many seeds to be released all at once, resulting in prolific regeneration. In one case, an isolated tree on Jeegarnyeejip Island was killed by fire, and the following winter there were 800 seedlings per square metre within a couple of metres of the original specimen, and about 150 per square metre ten metres away.
Actinostrobus pyramidalis was first collected from Perth in September 1841 by Johann Preiss, and a description was published by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel in 1845. It is the type species of its genus.
[edit] References and external links
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). Actinostrobus pyramidalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
- Actinostrobus pyramidalis. Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
- Actinostrobus pyramidalis. FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
- Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-068-4.
- Powell, R. (1990). Leaf and Branch: Trees and Tall Shrubs of Perth. Perth, Western Australia: Department of Conservation and Land Management. ISBN 0-7309-3916-2.
