Blue Mountains pine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue Mountains pine |
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| Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii with Blechnum fern in the background | |
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Pherosphaera
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P. fitzgeraldii
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| Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii |
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The Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii, also known as the Blue Mountains pine or dwarf mountain pine, is a special type of conifer. Conifers are trees or shrubs that usually have needles and cones, like pine trees. This plant belongs to the Podocarpaceae family.
You can only find this unique plant in New South Wales, Australia. It grows mostly in the Blue Mountains area. It loves to live near waterfalls, especially in the misty "splash zones." You can also find it on rocky areas that face south.
Discovery and Naming
This plant was first described in 1881 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He named it Dacrydium fitzgeraldii after R. Fitzgerald, who collected the plant.
Over time, its name changed a few times. In 1951, it was called Microstrobos fitzgeraldii. Then, in 1882, Joseph Dalton Hooker gave it the name we use today: Pherosphaera fitzgeraldii.
What It Looks Like
The Blue Mountains pine is a small shrub. It usually grows up to about 1 meter (3 feet) tall. Its branches hang down, and they have tiny, narrow leaves. These leaves are only about 2 or 3 millimeters long.
Where It Lives and Its Future
This special pine is quite rare. Scientists know of only 7 groups of these plants in the wild. Together, there are about 455 individual plants.
The Blue Mountains pine could be at risk. As towns in the Blue Mountains grow bigger, its natural home might shrink. Also, the water quality in streams has gotten worse over the last 100 years. This is because more people live in the area.
However, there's good news too! The number of Blue Mountains pines has stayed about the same for the past 50 years. This means efforts to protect it might be working.
