Celery Pine, New Zealand Celery Pine, Tanekaha

Tanekaha - native to New Zealand, and growing up to 25m with a girth of 1m - can live for 300 - 500 plus years.
The smooth trunk w...Read Morehich has grey bark when young and turns brown when mature, is patterned with markings and lichen distinctive to this tree. The celery-shaped rather leathery leaves are flattened branchlets or phylloclades. The phylloclades are specialised flattened stems that perform the function of true leaves. The stalked pollen cones which are red to purple when young, turning crimson on maturity, form in clusters at the tips of the branches. The seed cones are small and form on the margins of the phylloclades and bear a single seed.
Young trees have a distinctively pyramidal form, and the branches are produced from the trunk in distinct whorls, but that is less obvious as the tree matures. The only time that the Tanekaha has true leaves is when it is quite a small seedling. They then soon fall off as the phylloclades develope. Female flowers are produced in spring. Tanekaha wood, which is yellowish-white and of an elastic nature, is very straight-grained and has great strength. The bark is rich in tannin which was used to obtain red dye from.

Interesting Italian Cypress like habit (very tall but skinny) conifer with small, wavy leaves that look a bit like cerlery, instead of ne...Read Moreedles. Has nice mottled bark. This one is from New Zealand.