Afrocarpus gracilior

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Afrocarpus gracilior
Starr 061224-2830 Podocarpus sp..jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
(unranked): Gymnosperms
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Podocarpaceae
Genus: Afrocarpus
Species:
A. gracilior
Binomial name
Afrocarpus gracilior

Afrocarpus gracilior (syn. Podocarpus gracilior) is a species of coniferous tree in the family Podocarpaceae known as benet in Marakwet and East African yellowwood, African fern tree, or bastard yellowwood in English [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It is native to eastern Africa, in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, in Afromontane habitats. [1]

This is a common species found in many types of tropical mountain forest habitat. It is a dominant species in some areas. Nevertheless, it may be in slow decline due to deforestation and logging. [1]

Description

Afrocarpus gracilior cone and foliage. Starr 061224-2869 Podocarpus sp..jpg
Afrocarpus gracilior cone and foliage.

Afrocarpus gracilior is a medium-sized tree, growing 20–40 m tall, rarely to 50 m, with a trunk diameter of 50–80 cm. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 3–5 mm broad on mature trees, larger, to 10 cm (4 in) long and 6 mm broad on vigorous young trees.

The seed cones are highly modified, with a single 2 cm (1 in) diameter seed with a thin fleshy coating borne on a short peduncle. The mature seed is purple, and is dispersed by birds and monkeys which eat the fleshy coating. The pollen cones are solitary or in clusters of two or three on a short stem. [4]

Taxonomy

Studies in 2000 and 2002 provided enough evidence to support splitting the genus Podocarpus into Podocarpus and Afrocarpus . Thus, P. falcatus and P. gracilior were renamed to A. falcatus and A. gracilior. [5] Later DNA, biogeographical, morphological, and anatomical evidence suggested the following relationships between the species of Afrocarpus: [6]

Nageia (outgroup)

Afrocarpus

A. gracilior

A. mannii

A. falcatus

A. dawei

A. usambarensis

Uses

It is an important timber tree in its native range, where it is harvested for local use and export. It is used for construction of buildings and furniture. It is grown in plantations elsewhere in the world.

It is cultivated as an ornamental tree, and planted as a shade tree. [1]

Notes

Related Research Articles

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Podocarpus latifolius is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podocarpaceae; it is the type species of the genus Podocarpus.

Podocarpaceae Family of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized.

<i>Phyllocladus</i> Genus of plants

Phyllocladus, the celery pines, is a small genus of conifers, now usually treated in the family Podocarpaceae.Species occur mainly in New Zealand, Tasmania, and Malesia in the Southern Hemisphere, though P. hypophyllus ranges into the Philippines, a short way north of the equator.

<i>Podocarpus</i> Genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς + καρπός. Podocarpus species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from 1 to 25 m tall, known to reach 40 m (130 ft) at times. The cones have two to five fused cone scales, which form a fleshy, berry-like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract birds, which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. About 97 to 107 species are placed in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species.

<i>Nageia</i> Genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

Nageia is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. Nageia includes evergreen shrubs and trees, from one to 54 meters in height. A 2009 treatment of the genus recognized five species. Some authors consider Nageia formosensis to be a separate species from Nageia nagi, thus recognizing six species. The podocarp genera have been reshuffled by various botanists. Most recently, several species formerly classed as Nageia were moved to the new genus Retrophyllum, while Nageia falcata and Nageia mannii were moved to the new genus Afrocarpus.

<i>Afrocarpus</i> Genus of conifers

Afrocarpus is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. Two to six species are recognized. They are evergreen trees native to Africa. Afrocarpus was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in Podocarpus and Nageia were reclassified.

<i>Prumnopitys</i> Genus of conifers

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<i>Podocarpus macrophyllus</i> Species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae

Podocarpus macrophyllus is a conifer in the genus Podocarpus, family Podocarpaceae. It is the northernmost species of the genus, native to southern Japan and southern and eastern China. Common names in English include yew plum pine, Buddhist pine, fern pine and Japanese yew. Kusamaki (クサマキ) and inumaki (犬槇) are Japanese names for this tree. In China, it is known as luóhàn sōng (羅漢松), which literally means "arhat pine".

<i>Dacrycarpus dacrydioides</i> Species of conifer

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, commonly known as kahikatea and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60m and a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as Podocarpusdacrydioides, and was given its current binomial name Dacrycarpus dacrydioides in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera Dacrycarpus and Dacrydium.

Yellowwood may refer to:

<i>Retrophyllum</i> Genus of conifers

Retrophyllum is a genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae. It contains five generally recognized extant species with a disjunct distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, found in Papuasia and also in South America. Retrophyllum are evergreen trees typically occurring in tropical rainforests and cloud forests.

Afromontane Subregion of the Afrotropical realm

The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands.

<i>Podocarpus elatus</i> Species of conifer

Podocarpus elatus, known as the plum pine, the brown pine or the Illawarra plum, is a species of Podocarpus endemic to the east coast of Australia, in eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland.

<i>Afrocarpus falcatus</i> Species of conifer

Afrocarpus falcatus is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the montane forests of southern Africa, where it is distributed in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini. Common names include common yellowwood, bastard yellowwood, outeniqua yellowwood, African pine tree, weeping yew, Afrikaans: outeniekwageelhout, kalander, Sotho: mogôbagôba, Xhosa: umkhoba and Zulu: umsonti. It is widespread, in some areas abundant, and not considered threatened, but it is a protected tree in South Africa. It is grown as an ornamental tree, especially in South Africa, and occasionally abroad.

<i>Afrocarpus mannii</i> Species of conifer

Afrocarpus mannii is an evergreen coniferous tree native to the Afromontane forests of São Tomé Island in the Gulf of Guinea, growing at altitudes of 1,300 m up to the summit at 2,024 m. It was formerly classified as Podocarpus mannii.

<i>Lepidothamnus laxifolius</i> Species of conifer

Lepidothamnus laxifolius, commonly known as the pygmy pine or mountain rimu, is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is found in the North Island, the South Island and on Stewart Island.

<i>Nageia nagi</i> Species of plant

Nageia nagi, the Asian bayberry, is plant species in the family Podocarpaceae named by Carl Peter Thunberg. Nageia nagi is native to China, Japan, and Taiwan. It was formerly called Podocarpus nagi.

<i>Podocarpus henkelii</i> Species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae

Podocarpus henkelii is a South African species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is grown ornamentally in gardens for its strikingly neat, attractive form and its elegant, drooping foliage.

<i>Podocarpus milanjianus</i> Species of conifer

Podocarpus milanjianus is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the highlands and mountains of tropical Africa.

Pouteria adolfi-friedericii is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae, a tall, tropical forest tree. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The specific name adolfi-friedericii was given in honour of Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, a German explorer in Africa. Its trade name muna is taken from Gĩkũyũ mũna.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Farjon, A. 2013. Afrocarpus gracilior. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Downloaded on 11 April 2015.
  2. Timberlake (1994). "Vernacular names and uses of plants in Northern Kenya". Journal of East African Natural History. 83: 31. doi: 10.2982/0012-8317(1994)83[31:VNAUOP]2.0.CO;2 .
  3. "A study of the medicinal plants used by theMarakwet Community in Kenya".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Afrocarpus gracilior. The Gymnosperm Database.
  5. Abdillahi; Stafford; Finnie; Van Staden. "Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Podocarpus sensu latissimo (s.l.)". South African Journal of Botany. 76.
  6. Knopf; Schulze; Little; Stützel; Stevenson (2012). "Relationships within Podocarpaceae based on DNA sequence, anatomical, morphological, and biogeographical data". Cladistics. 28 (3): 271–299. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00381.x. PMID   34872191. S2CID   86581015.