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Cupressaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Athrotaxis selaginoides

Athrotaxis selaginoides

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Athrotaxis selaginoides is a plant of the temperate zone, growing in areas where snowfall is quite common in winter, at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 22°c, but can tolerate 5 - 28°c[1, 2]. When dormant, the plant can survive occasional temperatures down to about °-10c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 1,200 - 2,750mm[1, 2]. It succeeds outdoors in the south and west of Britain, producing fertile seed in western Britain, but does not grow well in the rest of the country[3]. Requires a sheltered position in a rich moist soil[4]. Found wild in acidic, rocky (talus) or peaty soils which are usually wet[5]. A slow-growing tree[6]. Plants are not very tolerant of fire and tend to disappear from the landscape in areas subject to fire. Before the arrival of humans fire was a very rare event in its high-rainfall habitat, but with the advent of human activity

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter/early spring in a cool greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[7]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 7 - 10cm long in early autumn (early autumn), in sandy soil in a cold frame. Leave for 12 months[7]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Athrotaxis+selaginoides>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]A Field Guide to Australian Trees. — Holliday. I. and Hill. R. · Frederick Muller Ltd. · 1974 · ISBN 0-85179-627-3 ↩︎A well illustrated and very readable book, but it does not contain much information for the plant project.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  6. [6]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  7. [7]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.