PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Callitris columellaris
Cupressaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Callitris columellaris

Callitris columellaris

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Callitris columellaris is widespread in warm temperate to tropical regions of Australia, often growing in areas with low rainfall, ranging from 150 - 750mm per year. It is not very frost hardy, with some forms able to tolerate occasional short-lived temperatures down to around -7°c, and can only be grown outdoors in areas with mild winters, generally growing well in Mediterranean climates such as southern Europe, northern Africa and California[1, 2]. Requires a sunny position, growing well in sandy, well-drained soils[1]. Grows well near the coast[1]. Tolerant of saline soils and, when established, of drought[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.5[3]. Plants are highly flammable and so should not be planted near buildings in areas prone to bush fires[1]. Plants are adapted to growing in regions subject to periodic bush fires - the seed is usually only released after a fire, germinating rapidly to re-occupy the site[1]. A relatively slow-growing tree.

Propagation

Seed - does not require stratification, germinating at any time of the year if it becomes moist[1]. 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. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Callitris+columellaris>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Florabank Fact Sheets — http://www.florabank.org.au/lucid/key/Species%20Navigator/Media/Html/index.htm#D ↩︎An excellent on-line publication. At present their are 132 species in the list, giving lots of information on growing and using the plants, plus information on their climatic tolerances, distribution maps and photographs.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
  5. [5]Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants — http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/index.html ↩︎An online resource giving botanical information, and a little bit about plant usage, for over 2,700 species of plants found in the Australian rainforest.
  6. [6]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Australian Medicinal Plants. — Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. · New Holland Publishers · 2001 · ISBN 1876334703 ↩︎A very good and readable guide to the subject.
  9. [9]Flora of Australia — http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ ↩︎The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.
  10. [10]Native Tastes of Australia — http://tasteaustralia.biz/ ↩︎A website with detailed information on around 50 species of native Australian food plants, including recipes.
  11. [11]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 ]).
  12. [12]Useful Wild Plants in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney · 1981 · ISBN 0-00-216441-8 ↩︎A very readable book.
  13. [13]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.