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Scientific Name
Exocarpos cupressiformis
Family Name
SANTALACEAE
Common Name
Native Cherry
Status
Height
3.0m - 8.0m (300-800cm)
Flowers
Insignificant cream flowers; clustered on short stems towards end s of branches.
Fruit
Nuts
Form
Small pine-like tree; brown-ridged bark; dense fine yellow-green branches.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Brighton; Burnie; Central Coast; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Devonport; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Glenorchy; Hobart; Huon Valley; Kentish; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Sorell; Southern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar
Communities
Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland
Habitat Notes
Common. Widespread in light forests. Often in dry rocky sites in eucalyptus woodlands in the east.
Site Tolerance
Dry
Frost Tolerance
Hardy
Soil Tolerance
Fertile; Poor; Well-drained
General Notes
Parasite on roots of nearby plants; requires host species for successful growth. Some growers recommend potting on seedlings with a native grass to act as host; others state seedling should be planted out where Casuarinaceae, Fabaceae, Mimosaceaea, Myrtaceae, or Proteaceae family are growing. One successful method from seed is feeding to hens, extracting from droppings , and sowing with Themeda triandra (Kangaroo Grass). * "Cuttings from vigorous new young growth (eg. post bushfire) strike well on mist & heat. Potting on with grasses not suitable (grasses too aggressive in growth). Success potting on with less vigorous ground covers (even this may not be required). Plants slow but grow well once planted out." - Will Fletcher. Difficult to propagate and grow, probably due to its parasitic nature. Tolerates shallow soils. Resistant to Phytophora cinnamomi. Not suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Few flowers mature to fruit. ripe fruit base is fleshy, red and edible; nut sits on top. green nut has thin outer shell (contains 1 seed), becomes hard, releases easily when ripe. harvest fruits individually by hand
Seed Treatment Method
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
Difficult to grow from seed, usually grown from cuttings. Bird ingested seed has good levels of germination.
Germination Time
6-18 months.
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
No
Cutting Notes
Difficult to grow from cuttings. Jam a sharp spade into soil at intervals around individual trees. This will cut roots and cause suckering. Pieces of these roots and suckers can then be transplanted. Or, cuttings 8cm long from juvenile foliage, placed in container with host (established plant or cutting of species which strikes easily and is small or slow-growing). *
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Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith