''Afrocarpus gracilior'' (syn. ''Podocarpus gracilior'') is a species of coniferous

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 ...

in the 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 Pr ...

known as benet in

Marakwet :''Marakwet is also a district in Kenya, see Marakwet District'' The Marakwet are one of the groups forming the ethnolinguistic Kalenjin community of Kenya, they speak the Markweta language. The Marakwet live in five territorial sections namely Al ...

and East African yellowwood, African fern tree, or bastard yellowwood in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

It is native to eastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, in Afromontane habitats. 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 Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

and logging.

Description

''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 long and 6 mm broad on vigorous young trees. 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 highly modified, with a single diameter seed with a thin fleshy coating borne on a short peduncle. The mature seed is purple, and is dispersed by

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and monkeys which eat the fleshy coating. The pollen cones are solitary or in clusters of two or three on a short stem.''Afrocarpus gracilior''.
The Gymnosperm Database.

Taxonomy

Studies in 2000 and 2002 provided enough evidence to support splitting 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 ...

'' into ''

'' and '' Afrocarpus''. Thus, ''P. falcatus'' and ''P. gracilior'' were renamed to '' A. falcatus'' and ''A. gracilior''. Later DNA, biogeographical, morphological, and anatomical evidence suggested the following relationships between the species of Afrocarpus:

Uses

It is an important

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

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

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s elsewhere in the world. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree, and planted as a shade tree.

Notes

*Dallimore, W., & Jackson, A. B. (1966). ''A Handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae'', 4th ed., revised. Edward Arnold.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1572907 Podocarpaceae Flora of Ethiopia Flora of Kenya Flora of Tanzania Flora of Uganda Trees of Africa Afromontane flora Least concern biota of Africa