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Tetraclinis

Tetraclinis
Photo: Cs california, CC BY-SA 3.0

Tetraclinis is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family with a single species, Tetraclinis articulata (sandarac tree), native to North Africa and southern Spain and Malta. It is a small, slow-growing tree that is hardy in hot, dry Mediterranean-type climates and is not a typical houseplant.

Family
Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out between waterings; established trees need little supplemental water.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or rocky soil; tolerates poor, alkaline soils.
Temperature
Tolerates hot summers and mild winters; suited to a hot, dry subtropical Mediterranean climate, with frost protection needed in cold regions.
How easy
Moderate

About

Tetraclinis (also called arar, araar or Sictus tree) is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Tetraclinis articulata, also known as Thuja articulata, sandarac, sandarac tree or Barbary thuja, endemic to the western Mediterranean region, particularly in southern Europe and North Africa.

Where it grows

It is native to northwestern Africa in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, with two small outlying populations on Malta, and near Cartagena in southeast Spain in Europe. It grows at relatively low altitudes in a hot, dry subtropical Mediterranean climate.

Uses

It is the national tree of Malta, where it is known as għargħar (derived from the Arabic عَرْعَر ʿarʿar). It is now being used locally in afforestation projects.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tetraclinis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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