''Podocarpus latifolius'' (broad-leaved yellowwood or real yellowwood, af, Opregte-geelhout, nso, Mogôbagôba, xh, Umcheya, zu, Umkhoba) is a large

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

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 ...

up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

family

Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber P ...

; it is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...

of the genus ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' species ...

''. The real yellowwood has been declared the

national tree This is a list of national trees, most official, but some unofficial. National trees See also * National emblem * Floral emblem * List of U.S. State and territory trees References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of National Trees N Trees In ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

and is protected there.

Appearance

The real yellowwood is a large evergreen tree that grows up to 30 meters in height. It grows relatively slowly but forms a wood of exceptional quality. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are strap-shaped, 25–40 mm long on mature trees or up to 100 mm long on young trees, and 6–12 mm broad, with a bluntly pointed tip. The species name ''"latifolius"'' is Latin for "broad-leaved". The bright-coloured foliage of new growth stands out against the dark leaves of mature foliage. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

of this

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

tree are berry-like, with a single (rarely two) 7–11 mm

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 angiosper ...

apical on an 8–14 mm pink-purple

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

; the aril is edible and sweet. The male (

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

) cones are 10–30 mm long.

Distribution

It is native to the moister southern and eastern areas of

, from coastal areas of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...

east to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

and north to eastern

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...

. Pockets are naturally found further north in and around Zimbabwe. It is commonly found in afro-temperate forests and often in mountainous areas. In harsh or exposed areas it tends to become stunted, small and dense.

Human usage

It is a slow-growing tree but exceptionally long-lived, and is increasingly grown as an ornamental feature in

n gardens. The unusual texture of the foliage is a reason for its growing popularity. The bright edible berries attract birds, which spread the seed. The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

is hard, similar to

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

wood, used for furniture, panelling, etc. Due to past over-exploitation, little is now cut.

Relationship to ''Podocarpus milanjianus''

''Podocarpus latifolius'' is closely related to ''

Podocarpus milanjianus ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the highlands and mountains of tropical Africa. Description ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' is an evergreen tree which can grow slowly up to 35 meters i ...

''. Whether they are a single or two separate species is not settled. Some authorities treat the South African populations as ''Podocarpus latifolius'', and those elsewhere in Africa as ''Podocarpus milanjianus''. Others treat them as a single species, ''Podocarpus latifolius''.Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. Accessed 8 March 2022. A 2020 study sampled DNA from ''Podocarpus latifolius'' and ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' trees, gathered from 88 sites across Africa. They concluded that all populations sampled constituted a single species: "As South African samples (''P. latifolius'') did not form a clade separated from the other clades (''P. milanjianus''), we confirm that the two taxa can be considered as synonyms." The authors concluded that the species originated in East Africa. The western populations, in the highlands of Cameroon and Nigeria and in the Angolan highlands, diverged from the other populations around 300,000 years ago, and the species reached expanded to its current distribution pattern about 200,000 years ago.Jérémy Migliore, Anne-Marie Lézine, Olivier J Hardy, The recent colonization history of the most widespread Podocarpus tree species in Afromontane forests, Annals of Botany, Volume 126, Issue 1, 29 June 2020, Pages 73–83, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa049

References

External links

South African National Symbols
*
Images on iSpot

{{Taxonbar, from=Q164767 latifolius Afromontane flora Flora of Southern Africa Flora of South Africa Flora of the Cape Provinces Trees of Africa Least concern plants Least concern biota of Africa National symbols of South Africa Protected trees of South Africa Trees of South Africa Trees of Mediterranean climate Garden plants of Southern Africa Ornamental trees Plants used in bonsai