Tetraclinis

Sandarakbaum ( Tetraclinis articulata ) in Spain ( Cartagena)

The Sandarakbaum ( Tetraclinis articulata ), also called Gliederzypresse or Barbary, is the only species of the genus Tetraclinis; it belongs to the subfamily Cupressoideae in the family of the cypress family ( Cupressaceae ).

Description

It is a shrub or tree-shaped, slow growing woody plant that reaches a height of 6 to 8 ( rarely up to 15) meters and a trunk diameter of 40 cm. The scale-like leaves are 1-5 mm long.

The Gliederzypresse is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The pins 10 to 15 mm long. They are initially green and brown on tires. From pollination to mature seeds, it takes about eight months. The 5 to 7 mm long and 2 mm wide seeds have a papery wings on each side.

Dissemination

The distribution of this species extends from Morocco on the northern regions of Algeria and Tunisia to Libya. On the Atlas it forms entire forests. In southern Spain and Malta, there are small, endangered populations. The Sandarakbaum is the national tree of Malta; nevertheless this kind is just there at risk.

System

Synonyms are Thuja articulata, Callitris articulata quadrivalvis and Cupressus. This taxon is close to the genera Platycladus, Microbiota and Calocedrus. In appearance it resembles the closely related arborvitae (Thuja ).

Use

From parts of plants of this type Sandarak is obtained for smoking. The wood is used as firewood and Essaouira in Morocco is known for handicrafts from the wood of Sandarakbaumes. Planed from the root nodules veneer is treated as Thuya Burl.

Swell

• Christopher J. Earle: Tetraclinis articulata. In: The Gymnosperm Database. December 14, 2010, accessed on 20 October 2011 ( English).