 Foliage on an ornamental specimen [C.J. Earle, May-1999]. |
Microcachrys tetragona Hooker fil. 1845
Common NamesTaxonomic notesThe sole species in Microcachrys Hooker fil. 1845.Description"A low, straggling, evergreen bush with long, slender, whip-like, 4- angled branchlets. Leaves arranged in 4 regular ranks, scale-like, about [1.5 mm] long, uniform in size, with finely ciliate margins, remaining for many years on the main shoot. Male and female strobili terminal on separate shoots of the same plant; the former oblong or egg-shaped, about [3 mm] long with 20 or more stamens. Female strobili egg-shaped or rounded, [6-8 mm] long, fleshy and bright red when ripe; fertile scales round, each with an inverted seed surrounded by a scarlet aril" (2).RangeW Tasmania, on the summit of the Western Range and Mount Lapeyrouse (1, 2).Big TreeOldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyObservationsRemarksThe genus name is from the Greek MIKROS, small, and CACHRUS, catkin, describing the pollen cones (2). The epithet refers to the 4-angled branchlets.See also Paleobotany of Australia and New Zealand conifers. Citations(1) Silba 1986.(2) Dallimore & Jackson 1967. See also Hooker. 1845. J. Bot. Lond. 4:150. |
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