Podocarpus ([ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607]) is a genus of pinophyta, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. Podocarpus species are evergreen or , usually from tall, known to reach at times. The conifer cone have two to five fused cone scales, which form a fleshy, berry-like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract , which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. Plants of the World Online accepts 116 species.[ Other authorities place 97 to 107 species in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species.][Earle, Chris J.: Podocarpus. The Gymnosperm Database. 2013.][Barker, N. P., et al. (2004). A yellowwood by any other name: molecular systematics and the taxonomy of Podocarpus and the Podocarpaceae in southern Africa. South African Journal of Science 100(11 & 12), 629–32.]
Species are cultivated as ornamental plants for parks and large gardens. The cultivar 'County Park Fire' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Etymology
The name comes from Greek πούς poús meaning "foot" and καρπός karpós meaning "fruit".
Names
Common names for various species include "yellowwood" and "pine",[Earle, Chris J.: Podocarpus elatus. The Gymnosperm Database. 2013.] or the Buddhist pine ( Podocarpus macrophyllus).[Earle, Chris J.: Podocarpus macrophyllus. The Gymnosperm Database. 2013.]
Description
Podocarpus species are evergreen woody plants. They are generally trees, but may also be shrubs.
The Leaf are simple and flattened, and may be sessile or short petiolate. The phyllotaxis or leaf arrangement is spiral, and may be subopposite on some shoots.
Podocarpus spp. are generally Dioecy, with the male pollen cones and female seed cones borne on separate individual plants, but some species may be Monoecy. The Conifer cone develop from , and may be solitary or form clusters.
The pollen cones are long and catkin-like in shape. They may be sessile or short pedunculate. A pollen cone consists of a slender rachis with numerous spirally arranged microsporophylls around it. Each triangular microsporophyll has two basal pollen-producing pollen sacs. The pollen is bisaccate.
The seed cones are highly modified with the few cone scales swelling and fusing at maturity. The cones are pedunculate and often solitary. The seed cone consists of two to five cone scales of which only the uppermost one or rarely two nearest the apex of the cone are fertile. Each fertile scale usually has one apical ovule. The infertile basal scales fuse and swell to form a succulent, usually brightly colored receptacle. Each cone generally has only one seed, but may have two or rarely more. The seed is attached to the apex of the receptacle. The seed is entirely covered by a fleshy modified scale known as an epimatium. The epimatium is usually green, but may be bluish or reddish in some species.
Distribution
The natural distribution of the genus consists of much of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, and several South Pacific islands. The genus occurs from southern Chile north to Mexico in the Americas and from New Zealand north to Japan in the Asia-Pacific region.
Podocarpus and the Podocarpaceae were endemism to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which broke up into Africa, South America, India, Australia-New Guinea, New Zealand, and New Caledonia between 105 and 45 million years ago. Podocarpus is a characteristic tree of the Antarctic flora, which originated in the cool, moist climate of southern Gondwana, and elements of the flora survive in the humid temperate regions of the former supercontinent. As the continents drifted north and became drier and hotter, podocarps and other members of the Antarctic flora generally retreated to humid regions, especially in Australia, where sclerophyll genera such as Acacia and Eucalyptus became predominant. The flora of Malesia, which includes the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea, is generally derived from Asia, but includes many elements of the old Gondwana flora, including several other genera in the Podocarpaceae ( Dacrycarpus, Dacrydium, Falcatifolium, Nageia, Phyllocladus, and the Malesian endemic Sundacarpus), and also Agathis in the Araucariaceae.
Classification
The two subgenera, Podocarpus and Foliolatus, are distinguished by cone and seed morphology.
In Podocarpus, the cone is not subtended by lanceolate bracts, and the seed usually has an apical ridge. Species are distributed in the temperate forests of Tasmania, New Zealand, and southern Chile, with a few occurring in the tropical highlands of Africa and the Americas.
In Foliolatus, the cone is subtended by two lanceolate bracts ("foliola"), and the seed usually lacks an apical ridge. The species are tropical and subtropical, concentrated in eastern and southeastern Asia and Malesia, overlapping with subgenus Podocarpus in northeastern Australia and New Caledonia.
Species in family Podocarpaceae have been reshuffled a number of times based on genetic and physiological evidence, with many species formerly assigned to Podocarpus now assigned to other genera. A sequence of classification schemes has moved species between Nageia and Podocarpus, and in 1969, de Laubenfels divided the huge genus Podocarpus into Dacrycarpus, Decussocarpus (an invalid name he later revised to the valid Nageia), Prumnopitys, and Podocarpus. Some species of genus Afrocarpus were formerly in Podocarpus, such as Afrocarpus gracilior.
Species
In 1985 David J. de Laubenfels divided the genus into two subgenera, Podocarpus and Foliolatus, and further divided each subgenus into nine sections.[de Laubenfels, D. J. (1985). A taxonomic revision of the genus Podocarpus. Blumea 30: 251–278.] Robert Reid Mill wrote (2015) that while the two subgenera have been strongly supported by subsequent evidence, the sections are "mostly are poorly supported by molecular evidence".[Mill, R. R. “A Monographic Revision of the Genus Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae): III. The Species of the Central America and Northern Mexico Bioregions.” Edinburgh Journal of Botany
]
/ref> In 2015 de Laubenfels revised the sections of subgenus Foliolatus.[David J. de Laubenfels "New Sections and Species of Podocarpus Based on the Taxonomic Status of P. neriifolius (Podocarpaceae) in Tropical Asia", Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature
/ref>
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Subgenus Podocarpus
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section Podocarpus (eastern and southern Africa)
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Podocarpus elongatus
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Podocarpus latifolius
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Podocarpus milanjianus
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section Scytopodium (Madagascar, eastern Africa)
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Podocarpus capuronii
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Podocarpus henkelii
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Podocarpus humbertii
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Podocarpus madagascariensis
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Podocarpus perrieri
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Podocarpus rostratus
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section Australis (southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, southern Chile) ]]
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Podocarpus acutifolius
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Podocarpus gnidioides
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Podocarpus laetus
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Podocarpus lawrencii (synonym Podocarpus alpinus )
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Podocarpus × loderi ( P. laetus × P. totara)
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Podocarpus nivalis
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Podocarpus nubigenus
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Podocarpus totara
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section Crassiformis (northeast Queensland)
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section Capitulatis (central Chile, southern Brazil, the Andes from northern Argentina to Ecuador)
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Podocarpus aracensis
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Podocarpus glomeratus
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Podocarpus lambertii
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Podocarpus parlatorei
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Podocarpus salignus
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Podocarpus sellowii
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Podocarpus sprucei
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Podocarpus transiens
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section Pratensis (southeast Mexico to Guyana and Peru) ]]
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Podocarpus oleifolius
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Podocarpus pendulifolius
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Podocarpus tepuiensis
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section Lanceolatis (southern Mexico, Puerto Rico, Lesser Antilles, Venezuela to highland Bolivia)
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Podocarpus coriaceus
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Podocarpus matudae
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Podocarpus rusbyi
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Podocarpus salicifolius
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Podocarpus steyermarkii
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section Pumilis (southern Caribbean islands and Guiana Highlands)
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Podocarpus angustifolius
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Podocarpus aristulatus
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Podocarpus buchii
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Podocarpus ekmanii
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Podocarpus hispaniolensis
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Podocarpus roraimae (synonym Podocarpus buchholzii )
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Podocarpus urbanii
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Podocarpus victorinianus
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section Nemoralis (central and northern South America, south to Bolivia)
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Podocarpus acuminatus
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Podocarpus brasiliensis
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Podocarpus celatus
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Podocarpus costaricensis
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Podocarpus guatemalensis
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Podocarpus magnifolius
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Podocarpus purdieanus
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Podocarpus trinitensis
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Subgenus Foliolatus
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section Acuminatus (Sikkim, India to Borneo, New Guinea, New Britain, and northern Queensland)
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Podocarpus dispermus
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Podocarpus hookeri
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Podocarpus ledermannii (section type)
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Podocarpus marginalis
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Podocarpus micropedunculatus
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section Bracteatus (Sumatra to Fiji)
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Podocarpus atjehensis
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Podocarpus bracteatus
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Podocarpus confertus
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Podocarpus degeneri
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Podocarpus pseudobracteatus
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section Foliolatus (Nepal to Sumatra, the Philippines, and New Guinea to Tonga) ]]
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Podocarpus idenburgensis
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Podocarpus insularis
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Podocarpus neolinearis (syn. Podocarpus linearis )
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Podocarpus neglectus
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Podocarpus neriifolius (section type)
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Podocarpus pallidus
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Podocarpus rubens (synonym Podocarpus indonesiensis )
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Podocarpus vanuatuensis
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section Globulus (Taiwan to Vietnam, Sumatra and Borneo, and New Caledonia)
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Podocarpus annamiensis
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Podocarpus beecherae (section type)
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Podocarpus globulus
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Podocarpus lucienii
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Podocarpus nakaii
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Podocarpus oblongus
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Podocarpus sylvestris (syn. Podocarpus colliculatus )
[ Podocarpus sylvestris J.Buchholz. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 8 January 2024.]
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Podocarpus teysmannii (syn. Podocarpus epiphyticus )
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section Longifoliolatus (Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra east to Fiji)
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Podocarpus decipiens
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Podocarpus decumbens
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Podocarpus deflexus
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Podocarpus levis
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Podocarpus longifoliolatus (section type)
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Podocarpus novoguineensis
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Podocarpus polyspermus
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Podocarpus salomoniensis
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section Gracilis (southern China, across Malesia to Fiji)
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Podocarpus affinis
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Podocarpus glaucus
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Podocarpus pilgeri
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Podocarpus ramosii
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section Macrostachyus (Eastern India to New Guinea)
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Podocarpus archboldii (syn. Podocarpus crassigemmis ) (section type)
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Podocarpus brassii
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Podocarpus brevifolius
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Podocarpus lenticularis
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Podocarpus palawanensis
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section Rumphius (Hainan, south through Malesia to northern Queensland)
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Podocarpus grayae (aka P. grayii and P. grayi)
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Podocarpus laubenfelsii
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Podocarpus rumphii
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section Polystachyus (southern China and Japan, through Malaya to New Guinea and northeast Australia)
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Podocarpus chingianus
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Podocarpus elatus
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Podocarpus fasciculus
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Podocarpus macrocarpus
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Podocarpus macrophyllus
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Podocarpus macrophyllus var. macrophyllus
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Podocarpus macrophyllus var. maki (syn. Podocarpus chinensis )
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Podocarpus polystachyus
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Podocarpus ridleyi
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Podocarpus subtropicalis
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section Spathoides (southern China to New Caledonia)
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Podocarpus borneensis
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Podocarpus costalis
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Podocarpus forrestii
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Podocarpus gibbsiae
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Podocarpus laminaris
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Podocarpus lophatus
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Podocarpus novae-caledoniae
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Podocarpus orarius
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Podocarpus spathoides
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Podocarpus thevetiifolius
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Podocarpus tixieri
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section Spinulosus (southeast and southwest coasts of Australia)
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Podocarpus drouynianus
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Podocarpus spinulosus
Allergenic potential
Male Podocarpus spp. are extremely allergenic, and have an OPALS allergy-scale rating of 10 out of 10. Conversely, completely female Podocarpus plants have an OPALS rating of 1, and are considered "allergy-fighting", as they capture pollen while producing none.
Podocarpus resemble , and as with yews, the stems, leaves, flowers, and pollen of Podocarpus are all poisonous. Additionally, the leaves, stems, bark, and pollen are cytotoxicity. The male Podocarpus blooms and releases this cytotoxic pollen in the spring and early summer.
Uses
The earliest use of P. elongatus dates back to the southern African Middle Stone Age where it was used to produce an adhesive by distillation.
The red, purple, or bluish fleshy cone (popularly called a "fruit") of most species of Podocarpus are edible, raw or cooked into jams or pies. They have a mucilaginous texture with a slightly sweet flavor. They are slightly toxic, so should be eaten only in small amounts, especially when raw.[ Data sheet - Podocarpus. budgetplants.com.]
Some species of Podocarpus are used in systems of traditional medicine for conditions such as , , arthritis, sexually transmitted diseases, and canine distemper.
Further reading
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de Laubenfels, D. J. (1985). A taxonomic revision of the genus Podocarpus. Blumea 30(2), 251–78.
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Farjon, A. World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers 2nd Edition. Kew, Richmond, UK. 2001.
