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Common Names
Yellowwood, brown or black pine (5).Taxonomic notes
Syn: Podocarpus Labillardière 1806 (1).Podocarpus is a exceptionally large genus, accorded 94 species by de Laubenfels (4), who is taken as authoritative in this treatment. The genus has previously been visited in some depth by Buchholz and Gray (2, 3) and in earlier work by de Laubenfels (6). The genus has been subdivided by de Laubenfels (4) as follows:
Subgenus Podocarpus
Subgenus Foliolatus
Keys to the species are provided by de Laubenfels (4).
Description
"Evergreen shrubs or trees to 40 m. Leaves alternate, linear to ovate, usually with a single midvein and rarely with parallel veins. Plants dioecious, strobili axillary. Microsporangiate strobili cylindrical, solitary ans sessile or clustered on short sessile or long-pedunculate branches. Ovule-bearing structures axillary with naked peduncle; receptacle naked or composed of two or a multiple of two bracts; ovule solitary, inverted, terminal and enclosed by an epimatium except at micropyle. Mature seed green to purple with outer fleshy to coriaceous layer, middle stony layer, and inner papyraceous layer" (1).Range
"Subgenus Podocarpus is associated with the antarctic forests of Tasmania, New Zealand, and Chile and extends into the tropical highlands of Africa and America, rarely penetrating into tropical lowlands. Two endemic highland species extend the range of this subgenus a short way into the Pacific tropics in northeastern Australia and New Caledonia where there is a slight geographic overlap with the other subgenus. Subgenus Foliolatus , on the other hand, is concentratedin the Asian and Pacific tropics and is by no means restricted to highland areas. Several of its species occur in subtropical parts of eastern Asia and of Australia" (4).The podocarps generally do not form extensive stands, instead occurring as individual forest trees (1).
The Sections are distributed as follows (4):
Big Tree
Oldest
A ring count on an unspecified South African species (probably P. latifolius or P. falcatus), 700 years (7).Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
In reference to South African species ( P. elongatus, P. henkelii, P. latifolius and Decussocarpus falcatus ): "Yellowwoods played a very important role in the early life of the colony for their timber was the most generally useful of any found in the country. Although the wood does not weather well and has never, therefore, been much used for exterior doors and windows, it was once popular for indoor work, for ceilings and floors, and for furniture. Its fine yellow colour is now much admired. It did not, however, suit 19th century taste and during this period it was frequently painted. Today the wood is often used to make butchers' blocks because it is hard, without scent, and does not chip easily. Coffins were once often made of it, and sometimes still are. On account of their usefulness, yellowwoods have been some of our most heavily exploited trees" (7).Observations
Remarks
In reference to South African species: "Seed is dispersed largely by birds. Among these are the brilliantly plumed Loerie of the forests and the Rameron Pigeon that scatter the seed of many kinds of trees and so play a vital part in the life of the forests. Yellowwoods largely control the distribution of a particularly interesting species of bird, the Cape parrot, Poisephalus robustus , in the eastern districts. These birds normally roost and nest in the highest mountain forests of the south east Cape, from where they visit the surrounding country in search of food, principally the kernels of the nuts of the yellowwood fruits" (7).Citations
(1) Stevenson 1991.(2) Gray 1956.
(3) Gray 1958.
(4) de Laubenfels 1985.
(5) "yellowwood," Britannica Online.
(6) de Laubenfels 1969.
(7) Palmer 1972.
Podocarpaceae | home
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/~earlecj/po/po/index.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:
earlecj@earthlink.com
Last modified on 6-Feb-2000