Widdringtonia nodiflora

(L.) Powrie (1972)

Common names

Mountain Cedar, mountain cypress, bergsipres, berg cypress, sapree-wood.

Taxonomic notes

Being by far the most common and widespread species in the genus, it has garnered a substantial synonymy (Farjon 1998):

• Brunia nodiflora L.
• Thuja cupressoides L.
• Juniperus capensis Lamb.
• Pachylepis cupressoides (L.) Brongn.
• Pachylepis commersonii Brongn.
• Widdringtonia cupressoides (L.) Endl.
• Callitris cupressoides (L.) Schrad. ex E.Mey.
• Widdringtonia commersonii (Brongn.) Endl.
• Widdringtonia natalensis Endl.
• Widdringtonia wallichii Endl.
• Widdringtonia caffra O. Berg
• Cupressus cornuta Carrière
• Callitris commersonii (Brongn.) T. Durand et Schinz
• Widdringtonia mahoni Mast.
• Widdringtonia dracomontana Stapf
• Widdringtonia stipitata Stapf
• Widdringtonia nodiflora var. dracomontana (Stapf) Silba

Some authors treat Widdringtonia whytei as a variety of this species.

Description

Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall, but in a few remote areas in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe much larger specimens are occasionally found. Bark is brown to gray, thinly fissured vertically and flaking in long, narrow strips revealing a reddish underbark. The juvenile leaves are needle-like, green, spirally arranged, up to 2 cm long. Adult leaves are scale-like, about 2 mm long, dark green. Pollen cones are terminal, 2-4 mm long. Seed cones are globose, dark brown, 15-20 mm diameter. Cone scales 4, woody, with a wrinkled surface and a few protuberances. The seed cones mature around March, but cones in varying stages of development may be found throughout the year. The seeds are dark brown to black, with a conspicuous red wing (Palgrave 2002). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Distribution and Ecology

S Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe at elevations of 0 to 2590 m ( Silba 1986). Usually at high altitudes on mountainsides, among rocks and in gullies. There remain very few sizable trees south of the Zambezi River today, although large trees grew in the late nineteenth century in the Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe (Palgrave 2002).

Zone 9 (cold hardiness limit between -6.6°C and -1.1°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Unlike other species in the genus, W. nodiflora coppices readily from the base after fire, which may account for its success against its congeners (Farjon 2005).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2026-01-31.

Ethnobotany

The timber is very durable and makes tough roofing shingles that weather to an attractive silver-grey. The wood has a natural satiny sheen, and is suitable for furniture and finish carpentry (Palgrave 2002).

Observations

No data as of 2026-01-31.

Remarks

It has often been noted that in some environments, convergent evolution leads some conifers to look like angiosperms or vice-versa. It's particularly common in southern hemisphere locales such as Tasmania, Chile, and South Africa. Such was the case with the type specimen of silver brunia, Brunia nodiflora, a flowering shrub of South Africa. This type was designated by Linnaeus in 1754 based on a 1738 collection, but in fact that specimen was a twig of Widdringtonia! The error was not uncovered until 1972 and once the nomenclature issues were sorted out, one consequence was the description of W. nodiflora as a new species (Powrie 1972).

Citations

Powrie, Elizabeth. 1972. Journal of South African Botany 38(4):303. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.12.24.

See also

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.

The PROTA database account for this species (accessed 2019.02.28). PROTA accounts are focused on commercial forest uses in Africa, and typically include photographs, drawings, names, distribution, and a variety of information relevant to management of the species.