''Austrotaxus spicata'', the New Caledonia yew or southern yew, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of yew, the sole species in the genus ''Austrotaxus''. It is related to the other yews in the genera ''

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of , with trunk girth averaging . They have reddish bark, lanceolate, flat ...

'' and '' Pseudotaxus''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to New Caledonia, occurring in the central and northern parts of the island at 300-1,350 m altitude. It is a dioeciousGymnosperm Database: ''Austrotaxus''
/ref> coniferous shrub or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, reaching 5–20 m (rarely 25 m) tall with reddish bark. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, 8–12 cm long (up to 17 cm on young plants) and 4 mm broad, dark green above, with two paler green stomatal bands below; they are arranged spirally on the stem. The

seed cones A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...

are drupe-like, 20–25 mm long, with a fleshy aril almost completely surrounding the single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

, but with the tip of the seed exposed. The male (pollen) cones are 10–15 mm long, slender. The markedly longer leaves and large seeds readily distinguish it from the yews in the genus ''Taxus''.

References and external links

* Price, R. A. (2003). Generic and familial relationships of the Taxaceae from ''rbc''L and ''mat''K sequence comparisons. ''Acta Hort.'' 615: 235-237. {{Taxonbar, from=Q135354 Taxaceae Monotypic conifer genera Endemic flora of New Caledonia Dioecious plants Taxa named by Robert Harold Compton