 | Libocedrus bidwillii Hooker fil.Common NamesPahautea (4), kaikawaka.Taxonomic notesDescription"A tree up to [21 m] high, resembling L. plumosa, from which it differs chiefly in its smaller size, smaller leaves and cones, and in the four-sided character of the ultimate branchlets. In the juvenile phase, the facial leaves are about [1 mm] long and the lateral leaves about [3 mm] long; adult leaves are suhequal, in size about [2 mm] long, in shape triangular, acute and appressed. Male strobili about [2.5 mm] long, with 7-9 sporophylls. Cones ovoid, about [10 mm] long, the 4 scales each bearing a curved dorsal mucro. Seeds 2 (one to each fertile scale)" (4).It is reduced to a bush at higher elevations, or in wet ground (4). RangeNew Zealand: W N Is, N S Is, 300-2000m (1). Montane to sub-alpine forests. Type locality in the Nelson Mountains (1830 m), but found as low as 300 m at Haast Pass (4).Big TreeA specimen 125 cm dbh and 20 m tall is recorded from South Westland, New Zealand (5).OldestDendrochronologyHas been treated in reviews of regional results (2, 3).EthnobotanyThe wood is "soft, brittle, durable, less generally useful than that of L. plumosa, but would be suitable for many kinds of carpentry" (4).ObservationsRemarksSee also Paleobotany of Australia and New Zealand conifers.Citations(1) Silba 1986.(2) Palmer & Ogden 1992. (3) Norton & Palmer 1992. (4) Dallimore & Jackson 1967. (5) Burstall & Sale 1984. |
[Libocedrus] [Cupressaceae] [home] This page is from the Gymnosperm Database |