Widdringtonia schwarzii

Widdringtonia schwarzii is a plant belonging to the family of the cypress family ( Cupressaceae ). It is native to South Africa.

Description

Widdringtonia schwarzii grows as evergreen tree that can reach heights of growth 17-40 meters. The thin, rotgraue bark is fibrous and is peeling off in scales.

Boy, needle-like leaves are up to 20 millimeters long. Older leaves are 3-4 mm long and are arranged decussate on the branches.

The male cones reach a length of up to 2 millimeters and are available on short branches. The nearly spherical female cones are about 2 inches thick and are colored to maturity towards dark brown. Each pin consists of four woody cone scales, which have a rough, warty surface. The journal of a tree can be in various stages of development. The flattened seeds have a eye-catching wings.

Distribution and location

The natural range of Widdringtonia schwarzii located in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. It includes where the Baviaauskloof Mountains and the Kooga Mountains.

Widdringtonia schwarzii thrives at altitudes 70-1220 meters. The species grows mainly in ravines, at sites with low rainfall.

System

The first description as Callitris schwarzii was made in 1905 by Rudolf Marloth in Botanical yearbooks for systematics, plant history and geography of plants, Volume 36, page 206 Maxwell Tylden Masters on led the way in 1905 in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany, Volume 37, page 269 as Widdringtonia schwarzii in the genus Widdringtonia.

Threats and conservation

Widdringtonia schwarzii is classified in the IUCN Red List as "vulnerable". It is noted, however, that a re-examination of risk is necessary. All accessible, larger trees were felled or destroyed by fire, only longer exist today larger specimens in inaccessible places. Natural regeneration is low, thus the species is vulnerable to natural fires. The stocks within the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area be protected from timber felling.

Swell

• Christopher J. Earle: Widdringtonia schwarzii. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, November 28, 2012, accessed on 24 February 2013 ( English).