''Podocarpus matudae'' is a species of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

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 Pres ...

. It is found in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Description

''Podocarpus matudae'' can form large trees growing to 30 m or more in height, with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m."Podocarpus matudae". Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. Accessed 4 April 2022. ropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Podocarpus+matudae/ref> The trunk is usually

monopodial Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word ''Monopodial'' is derived from Greek language, Greek '', ''one'' and '', "foot", in ...

and erect. Young trees have thin, smooth, light brown-coloured bark which becomes scaly and grey in colour with age and weathering. Branches tend to be spreading or ascendent, with trees forming a large domed crown with age. Branchlets are straight and slender, with fine grooves formed from leaf bases of fallen foliage. The flattened leaves are evergreen and can be lanceolate, straight or slightly falcate in shape, even on the same branchlet and have a leathery texture with a prominent, but narrow midrib. Saplings and young plants have longer and wider foliage than mature trees: leaves may be up to 20 cm in length and 17 mm in width in saplings, reduced to between 5–14 cm x 8–13 mm in mature trees. Solitary cylindrical pollen cones develop at leaf base axils, and when fully grown, may be 30-34 mm in length and 4-5 mm in width. Seed cones are also solitary, held on short peduncles arising from leaf base axils and become swollen, red and succulent before turning a brown-purple colour. Seeds are 6-8 mm in length, slightly flattened and oval-shaped becoming dark brown when dried.

Habitat and range

''Podocarpus matudae'' is found in the mountains in eastern, southern, and western Mexico and northern Central America, where it inhabits cloud forests between 800 and 2400 meters elevation. It grows in moist areas with mild temperatures and average annual rainfall of 1,500 to 3,000 mm, including frequent fog at higher altitudes. ''Podocarpus matudae'' generally grows in small and scattered stands among other forest trees, typically

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s (''Quercus'' spp.), along with species of ''

Liquidambar ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of ...

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

Ostrya ''Ostrya'' is a genus of eight to 10 small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Common names include hop-hornbeam and hophornbeam. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is na ...

'', and ''

Clethra ''Clethra'' is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

in western Mexico, it is typically associated with '' Clusia salvinii,

Pinus herrerae ''Pinus herrerae'', Herrera's pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, a ...

, Pinus gordoniana,

Abies guatemalensis ''Abies guatemalensis'', the Guatemalan fir or ''pinabete'', is an evergreen tree native to Central America and is the southernmost member of the genus '' Abies'' being spread to the south lower than 14° N. Its range is from southern (less from ...

'', and '' Acer'' sp. Its range includes the east-facing slopes of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

and

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southeastern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Geography The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a sout ...

from

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

to northern

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

states, and the coastal

Sierra de Los Tuxtlas The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas (Tuxtlas Mountains) are a volcanic belt and mountain range along the southeastern Veracruz Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast in Eastern Mexico. The Biósfera Los Tuxtlas, Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Biósfera Los Tuxtlas) in ...

mountains in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It is also found in the Chiapas Highlands of Mexico's Chiapas state and in the

Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre is a major mountain range in Central America. It is known as the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ...

of Chiapas, Guatemala, and El Salvador. These eastern and southern populations are classed as subspecies ''Podocarpus matudae'' subsp. ''matudae''.Mill, R. R. (2015). A Monographic Revision of the Genus Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae): III. The Species of the Central America and Northern Mexico Bioregions. ''Edinburgh Journal of Botany'', 72(2), 243–341. The population from the mountains of Jalisco and Nayarit states in western Mexico is considered a separate subspecies, ''Podocarpus matudae'' subsp. ''jaliscanus''.

Naming

The species name (''matudae'') is a specific epithet honouring the Japanese-Mexican botanist Eizi Matuda who collected and documented many indigenous Mexican plants, particularly from the state of

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, but also elsewhere across Mexico and the Americas. Matuda also founded the Matuda Herbarium, now a part of the National Herbarium of Mexico, at

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The type specimen for ''Podocarpus matudae'' was collected by Matuda himself.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5435823 matudae Near threatened plants Trees of Northern America Trees of Central America Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental Sierra Madre de Chiapas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Flora of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Flora of Los Tuxtlas Cloud forest flora of Mexico Flora of the Chiapas Highlands