Prumnopitys ferruginoides

(R.H. Compton) de Laubenfels 1972

Common names

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy (Farjon 1998):

• Podocarpus distichus J. Buchholz 1951;
• Podocarpus distichus J. Buchholz var maialis J. Buchholz 1951.

Description

Shrubs or trees to 20 m tall and 40 cm dbh; crown first conical, later open and cylindrical with short, ascending branches. Bark thin, yellow- to red-brown weathering dark gray, exfoliating in small scales. Leaves in two ranks or all around the twig, angled forward, straight, 9-15 mm (to 30 mm in juveniles) × 2-3.5 mm, base rounded with short petiole, midrib flat, apex blunt in adult leaves, pointed in juvenile. Pollen cones solitary in leaf axils, 3-4×1.5 mm. Seed cones 10-15×6-10 mm, epimatium and seed red at maturity. The short leaves with a flat midrib and the red seed distinguish it from other species of Prumnopitys (Eckenwalder 2009).

Distribution and Ecology

New Caledonia (de Laubenfels 1972).

Based on data from 24 collection localities, it grows at elevations of 600 ±290 m. Within its range, mean annual temperature is 20°C, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 13°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 1920 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5). Zone 10 (cold hardiness limit between -1°C and +4.4°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Big tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Citations

See also

Association Endemia, a site devoted to New Caledonian species. Has excellent photos, a range map, and other information. In French.