Nageia Gaertn.

Timothy M. A. Utteridge and Laura V. S. Jennings (2022). Trees of New Guinea. Kew Publishing. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Distribution

A small genus of five species, with one species in New Guinea. The genus is widespread and occurs from north-east India, Indo-China, southern China, Taiwan and Japan through Malesia (excluding most of the Lesser Sunda Islands) to New Guinea (excluding New Britain and New Ireland). The species in New Guinea is Nageia wallichiana Kuntze, the most widespread in the genus.

Morphology General Habit

Dioecious or monoecious evergreen trees. Bark thin, hard, becoming scaly

Morphology Leaves

Leaves spirally inserted or subopposite on leading shoots, petioles twisted to position the leaves in a plane, large, flat, ovate-elliptic to broadly lanceolate, with many parallel, converging veins

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen

Pollen cones single or in small, spicate groups of 2–6 on axillary peduncles, ovoid-cylindric; microsporophylls triangular to apiculate with 2 basal, subglobose pollen sacs

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed cones solitary and long pedunculate, or with 2 or more on slender shoots in the axil of a leaf and short pedunculate, consisting of several spirally arranged bracts; bracts either drying up or fusing and enlarging at their bases, forming a weakly developed, fleshy receptacle being usually only slightly thicker than the peduncle

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts

Only a single terminal bract fertile, having an inverted ovule enveloped by the epimatium; epimatium swelling greatly, forming a drupe-like, fleshy to succulent, red or purple 'fruit' around the globose seed.

Ecology

Nageia wallichiana is a truly tropical conifer in that its distribution is virtually confined within the tropics and it occurs in dipterocarp forest near sea level on the equator. In New Guinea it occurs from near sea level to c. 900 m, often in primary forest on (sandy) clay as a tall canopy tree up to 40–50 m tall. On mountain ridges it is mainly associated with Fagaceae and sometimes Nothofagus or Araucaria.