[MikeHardman]

I saw these trees growing near Anogyra, in the hills west of Limassol last week. They were not wild. I was attracted by the colourful fruit. I collected some, and found my fingers wet with oil: as the cones dehisce loosening the seeds, oil is liberated as well. You can see some white blobs on the cones; that is wax. The trees were planted on a plot boundary, were about 8m tall but looked like they would grow much taller.

[MikeHardman]

Oh typical - now I've found it - Tetraclinis articulata (syn. Thuja articulata; see also The Plants List for other synonyms).

I see it is the source of Sandarac resin (see here for some interesting info).

The tree comes from NW Africa, eg. Morocco, so should do well in med. gardens. ...Makes me a little surprised I have not come across it before in Cyprus. Has anybody else grown or found it in med. gardens?

Worthy of note: "It is one of only a small number of conifers able to coppice (re-grow by sprouting from stumps), an adaptation to survive wildfire and moderate levels of browsing by animals. Old trees that have sprouted repeatedly over a long period form large burrs at the base, known as lupias. ... It is the national tree of Malta, where it is known as Għargħar (derived from the Arabic name Araar). It is now being used locally in afforestation projects." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraclinis]

The 'Flora of Cyprus — a dynamic checklist' has it as 'naturalized non-invasive'.

I'm glad I collected a few seeds; I think I might give it a go.
 

[John J]

Mike, in Greek it's known as Καλλιτριδα and is very commonly used as a hedging plant due to it's ability to, as you say, take severe pruning. It was mentioned in antiquity by such writers as Homer, Theophrastus and Pliny. I don't know if you have Georgios Hadjikyriakou's book 'Aromatic and Spicy Plants in Cyprus' but there's some interesting information about it in there. An excellent book by the way.

[MikeHardman]

Thanks John. I don't have the book, but I note the Moufflon Bookshop in Paphos lists it; I'll try to get a copy soon.

[John J]

Mike, I've just noticed that Georgios Hadjikyriakou is listed as one of the General Editors of the web-site you mentioned; Flora of Cyprus. Obviously one of his many activities. His life is devoted to plants, research, writing about, as well as discovering new species (at the last count it was either 6 or 7). His house is amazing, a mixture of library (both book and photographic) and herbarium (last time I spoke to him he had around 10,000 specimens).

[MikeHardman]

Very interesting John; thanks again; I hope I can meet him one day.

I note that the 'News' page of 'Flora of Cyprus — a dynamic checklist' includes new species/records, eg.
'Lysimachia dubia / new for Cyprus / Division 8 / 2011 Kyriakos Kefala'
I've just added a reminder to my copy of Meikle's 'Flora of Cyprus'.

And the bibliography is huge, perhaps reflecting his library.
I note his several 'Contributions to the flora of Cyprus' (Symvoli sti meleti tis chlorides tis Kyprou).