Cupressaceae

Papuacedrus papuana var. arfakensis (Gibbs) R.J.Johns

Mainly known from the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea. Exploitation for house building and general deforestation in some parts of its range has led to an assessment of Near Threatened.

Description

Taxonomic Notes

Only minor differences in juvenile foliage and male cones separate the two varieties of Papuacedrus papuana. It is debatable whether any varieties should be recognised at all.

Distribution

Indonesia, New Guinea (Papua), Moluccas (Bacan Island and Obi Island). De Laubenfels (1988) mentions Ternate in the Moluccas, but no specimen has been cited or seen from that small and densely populated island. It is not impossible that it was planted there.

In New Guinea, most records come from the Vogelkop Peninsular and the Wissel Lakes area

Habitat and Ecology

Grows in primary forest on acid, peaty soils, into peaty heathland,vegetation prone to fire. Also in montane tropical rainforest mixed with angiosperms, but more abundant in mossy cloud forest. Recorded from altitudes between 700 and 2,400 m asl.

Human Uses

The timber is used for construction of houses in villages, trees are often planted in villages.

Conservation Status

Global Status

Near Threatened

Global Rationale

A population decline is suspected as the timber is valued for construction and human populations are increasing in several parts of its range. However, uncertainty about its full distribution, population size and the extent of the suspected decline, leads to an assessment of Near Threatened.

Conservation Actions

Herbarium collections are recorded from Enarotali Nature Reserve, Gunung Sibela Reserve and Pegunungan Tamrau Utara Nature Reserve.

References and further reading

  1. de Laubenfels, D.J. 1988. Coniferales. Flora Malesiana series I - spermatophyta, flowering plants 10(3).
  2. Farjon, A. 2005. A Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. Johns, R.J. 1995. Papuacedrus papuana var. papuana - Cupressaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 12 (2): 66-72
  4. Thomas, P. 2013. Papuacedrus papuana var. arfakensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T63551A3127087. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T63551A3127087.en. Downloaded on 31 July 2017

External links

Entry information:

Entry author:

P.Thomas ·

Entry last edited:

26 Jun 2019

Recommended Citation:

P.Thomas, 2019, Papuacedrus papuana var. arfakensis, from the website: ‘Threatened Conifers of The World’ (https://threatenedconifers.rbge.org.uk/conifers/papuacedrus-papuana-var-arfakensis). Downloaded on 29 March 2024.

Categorised in:

Cupressaceae, Near Threatened, Direct exploitation and Malesiana