Botanical Name: Callitris endlicheri
Family: Cupressaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Genus: Callitris
Species: C. endlicheri
Synonyms:
Common Names: Black cypress pine
Habitat:Callitris endlicheri is native to Australia – New South Wales, Queensland. It grows on light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils..
Description:
Callitris endlicheri is an evergreen tree with a spreading crown; it can grow up to 10 metres tall, with some trees said to reach 25 metres. It is in leaf all year.It is mostly erect, sometimes spreading branches. Bark tough and often deeply furrowed. Leaves dark green, 2-4 mm long. Seed cones solitary or several together on rather slender, usually clustered, fruiting branchlets; ovoid to globose or depressed-globose, 15-20 mm in diameter; columella variable, usually short, deeply 3-lobed or with 3 or 4 separate parts.The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant).
Cultivation:
Prefers a dry sandy coastal soil in full sun, succeeding in poor or saline soils. A very drought tolerant plant once established. Tolerates temperatures down to -7°c in Australian gardens but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters. Plants can succeed outdoors in the very mildest areas of this country. 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.
Propagation:
Through Seeds – does not require stratification, germinating at any time of the year if it becomes moist. 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.
Edible Uses: Not Known.
Medicinal Uses: Anthelmintic.Used traditionally in Aboriginal and colonial pharmacopoeia.
Other Uses:
A resin obtained from the stumps of felled trees or the cut logs is used as a coating for pills. An essential oil is obtained by distillation of the fruit and twigs. It contains acetic acid, limonene, borneol and geranol. The bark contains 10 – 36% dry weight of tannin. Wood – resinous, very aromatic, very durable, brittle, very flammable, hard, close grained. Used for construction. furniture making, cabinet making, fencing, ship building etc.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callitris_endlicheri?msclkid=610b1176cfa311eca3f581f2512f0b79
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Callitris+endlicheri
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261291501_Medicinal_compounds_chemically_and_biologically_characterised_from_extracts_of_Australian_Callitris_endlicheri_and_C-glaucophylla_Cupressaceae_Used_traditionally_in_Aboriginal_and_colonial_pharmacopoe
