Citation: Vent., Dec. Gert. Nov. 10 (1808).

Derivation: Greek kalos, beautiful; treis, three; referring to the arrangement of the leaves in whorls of three.

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Native or cypress-pines.

Description:
Low spreading shrubs to compact conical trees to 15 m high; leaves arranged alternately in whorls of 3, completely enclosing the terete ultimate branches, lower oblong portion adnate to the stem, upper triangular part free and overlapping the base of adjacent leaves, abaxial surface rounded or keeled.

Male cones terminal or lateral on ultimate branches, ovoid to cylindrical; sporophylls in alternate whorls of 3, 3-6 whorls per cone, 2 or 3 sporangia per sporophyll; female cones composed of 6 valves, 2 whorls of 3 alternately arranged, whorls differing in size and shape; dorsal point a small dorsal appendage beneath the apex of the valve, conspicuous or inconspicuous; columella a small column in the centre of the base of the cone, simple or compound; seeds 30 or more per cone, arranged around the columella and up the valves, 1-3-winged; cotyledons 2 rarely 3.

Distribution:  15 species in Australia ( 13 endemic) and New Caledonia (2 endemic).(J. Venning (1979) Character variation in Australian species of Callitris Vent. (Cupressaceae). Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Adelaide.)

Biology: No text

Key to Species:

1. Abaxial leaf surface keeled	C. rhomboidea 4.
1. Abaxial leaf surface rounded
2. Shrubs, or occasionally small trees, generally less than 5 m high
3. Female cone valves not tuberculate	C. canescens 1.
3. Female cone valves densely tuberculate	C. verrucosa 5.
2. Trees, generally 5-15 m high
4. Peduncle width usually greater than 0.3 cm	C. preissii 3.
4. Peduncle width usually less than 0.3	C. columellaris 2.

Author: Not yet available