Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii

Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii, commonly known as the Blue Mountains pine or dwarf mountain pine^[1] is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New South Wales, Australia. The entire natural habitat is in the Blue Mountains, from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls, growing almost exclusively in the splash zones of waterfalls, and on the southern aspect of sandstone nearby.^[3]

Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii
Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii with Blechnum fern in the background
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Araucariales
Family:	Podocarpaceae
Genus:	Pherosphaera
Species:	P. fitzgeraldii
Binomial name
Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Hook.f.
Synonyms[2]
Dacrydium fitzgeraldii F.Muell. Microstrobos fitzgeraldii (F.Muell.) J.Garden & L.A.S.Johnson

It was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in his 1881 work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae as Dacrydium fitzgeraldii, naming it after its collector, one R. Fitzgerald.^[4] It was renamed Microstrobos fitzgeraldii by Lawrie Johnson and Garden in 1951,^[5] and Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1882.^[6]

Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii grows as a small shrub to 1 m (3 ft) high. The branchlets droop and bear tiny narrow leaves 2 or 3 mm in length.^[3]

Only 7 populations, containing a total of 455 individual plants are known. This conifer may be threatened by habitat loss, due to increased urbanization on the plateau. In the past hundred years, stream water quality has deteriorated, due to urban sprawl in the Blue Mountains. However, the population of Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii seems to have been stable over the last fifty years.

Sources

1. Thomas, P. (2013). "Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T30534A2793882. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T30534A2793882.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
2. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 27 December 2016
3. G. J. Harden & J. Thompson. "New South Wales Flora Online: Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
4. "Dacrydium fitzgeraldii F.Muell". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
5. "Microstrobos fitzgeraldii (F.Muell.) J.Garden & L.A.S.Johnson". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
6. "Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Hook.f." Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.