Libocedrus Endl.

Monoecious evergreen trees or shrubs. Bark smooth but fissured, peeling in strips or flakes, fibrous, rich brown but weathering to blackish or gray. Leaves in alternating whorls of 3 or 4 soon reduced to opposite decussate, those of the seedling single veined and linear, c. 1 cm long, changing abruptly on lateral branches and throughout mature trees to specialized scale forms. Scale-bearing branches with small dorsally keeled facial scales alternating decussately with larger marginal leaves that are strongly bilaterally flattened and sometimes extend outward wing-like, the basal margins of each pair meeting between the succeeding facial leaves, the whole branch system further differentiated dorsiven-trally with a convex upper surface bearing few or even no stomata and a concave lower surface where the stomata are concentrated, the leaf differentiation diminishing (or more or less disappearing) on older more exposed plants. Foliage buds nothing more than the last pair of developing leaves. Fertile structures solitary, terminal, often on short lateral branches. Pollen cones cylindric, composed of decussate or more or less crowded scales each with 2-6 inverted pollen sacs. Seed cones woody, composed of two oval opposed fertile scales each bearing two erect ovules at their bases and two small triangular lateral sterile scales. The bracts are mostly fused to the outer surface of the scales, the apex of the bract a short to elongated acute spreading projection. Seed an elongated cone with two very unequal wings, a narrow wing along one side and an elongated more or less expanded wing at least twice as long as the seed on the other side and extending beyond and more or less outward from the seed apex (micropyle).

A wide range of forest and rain-forest habitats from lowland tropics to the tropical tree line and throughout the Antarctic forests (in Chile prospering on the dry margins of the forest). Pollination and seed dispersal strictly by wind. Seedlings germinating in abundance in rich humous soils.

Uses. The aromatic wood is similar to that of Juniperus in appearance and uses, with light coloured sap-wood and reddish brown to purplish heartwood. Where large enough it is much appreciated for construction and furniture while the bark is sometimes used for roofing.