Podocarpus L'Hér. ex Pers.

Gymnospermae, R. Melville. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1958

Morphology General Habit

Shrubs or trees to 30 m. high, with linear lanceolate leaves spirally arranged, or sometimes opposite or whorled on the same tree, dioecious

Morphology Reproductive morphology Cones

Male cones cylindrical, catkin-like, shortly stalked; female cones reduced, of 1 or 2 fertile scales bearing solitary inverted ovules and terminating short scaly or leafy lateral branches

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Epimatium sometimes fleshy, entirely enclosing the seed, and fused with the thin or thick woody testa

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle

Receptacle sometimes swollen and fleshy.

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

Distribution

The largest genus in the family Podocarpaceae with 97 species and a distribution almost congruent with the range of the family as a whole. Consisting of trees and shrubs this genus occupies a great range of habitats in localities from the lowland tropics to (sub)alpine dwarf scrub at high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. In New Guinea 14 species occur, two additional species are found in the Solomon Islands which also share four species with New Guinea. In this genus several species are poorly known and it is likely that undescribed species occur in the forests of New Guinea.

Morphology General Habit

Shrubs or more commonly trees, dioecious or rarely monoecious

Morphology General Bark

Bark scaly or fibrous, peeling in vertical strips. Terminal buds distinctive, with imbricate and/or spreading primary and secondary scales

Morphology Leaves

Leaves relatively broad, bifacially flattened, usually linear-lanceolate or linear-elliptic, sessile to short petiolate, with a single raised, flat or sunken midrib and stomata in 2 broad bands on abaxial side. Pollen cones axillary, solitary or clustered, sessile or on short peduncles, flexible and slender, catkin-like

Morphology Reproductive morphology Microsporophylls

Microsporophylls triangular, with 2 basal pollen sacs

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed cones axillary, pedunculate, solitary or rarely more together, consisting of a smooth, succulent, coloured receptacle with 1, sometimes 2 seeds obliquely attached to the apical part of the receptacle and enclosed in a green or sometimes reddish to bluish epimatium.

Ecology

The species of Podocarpus in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are mostly medium to large trees with the exception of P. brassii Pilg. which is a high montane to subalpine shrub or small tree. They occur in lowland to montane forest and in ‘mossy forest’ (cloud forest) which is typical on exposed ridges with high air humidity causing rich growth of epiphytes. Such habitats are also often deficient of soil and minerals available to plants and many podocarps are well adapted to compete with angiosperms in these conditions. The altitude range of the genus in New Guinea is considerable, from near sea level to almost 4000 m, in the Solomon Islands only to c. 1000 m.