Widdringtonia schwarzii

(Marloth) Mast. (1905)

Common names

Willowmore cedar, baviaanskloof-seder.

Taxonomic notes

Type: South Africa, Willowmore, Konga Mtns., Bavians Kloof, elev. 800-1200 m, Marloth 3614. Syn.: Callitris schwarzii Marloth (1905).

Description

Trees commonly 17-30(-40) m tall. Bark red-gray, thin, fibrous, flaking. Juvenile leaves are needle-like, up to 2 cm long. Adult leaves are decussate, 3-4 mm long. Pollen cones are about 2 mm long, growing on dwarf spur-branchlets. Seed cones are almost globose, 2 cm diameter, dark brown. The 4 woody seed scales have rough and warty faces. Cones in varying stages of development can he found on the trees throughout the year. Seeds are somewhat flattened, with a conspicuous wing (Palgrave 2002). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

W. schwarzii has affinities with W. cedarbergensis and W. nodiflora and is intermediate in many respects between the two (Palgrave 2002).

Distribution and Ecology

South Africa, Cape province, occurring only at 70-1220 m elevation in rocky ravines in the low rainfall areas of the Baviaauskloof and Kooga mountains. All accessible specimens have been burnt or cut out and lost, so that trees of any substantial size are now confined to remote rocky ravines and can be seen only with great effort (Palgrave 2002).

Zone 10 (cold hardiness limit between -1°C and +4.4°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2026-01-10.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2026-01-10.

Observations

No data as of 2026-01-10.

Remarks

The epithet honors E. Schwarz, who told Marloth of this tree.

Citations

Marloth, R. 1905. Eine neue Kap-Cypresse. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 36(2):206. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.12.24.

Masters. 1905. Journal of the Linnaean Society, Botany. 37:269. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.12.24.

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.

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