''Prumnopitys'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of conifers belonging to 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 includes three species of densely branched,

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

trees up to 40 metres in height, native to South America and New Zealand.

Etymology

The name ''Prumnopitys'' comes from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

' ( ‘hindmost’) and ' ( ‘pine’), referring to the resin duct being behind the

midrib A primary vein, also known as the midrib, is the main vascular structure running through the center of a leaf. The primary vein is crucial for the leaf’s efficiency in photosynthesis and overall health, as it ensures the proper flow of material ...

Description

The leaves are similar to those of the

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 ...

, strap-shaped, 1–4 cm long and 2–3 mm broad, with a soft texture; they are green above, and with two blue-green

stomata In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange between the internal air spa ...

l bands below. The

seed cones A conifer cone, or in formal botanical usage a strobilus, : strobili, is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants, especially in conifers and cycads. They are usually woody and variously conic, cylindrical, ovoid, to globular, and have scales ...

are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 1–5 cm long bearing several scales; one to five scales are fertile, each bearing a single seed surrounded by fleshy scale tissue, resembling a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

. These berry-like cone scales are eaten by birds which then disperse the seeds in their droppings.

Distribution

The species are distributed on both sides of the Pacific, in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and along the mountain ranges of western

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. This distribution indicates the origins of ''Prumnopitys'' in the

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. In 2025, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including ...

, which evolved from the humid temperate flora of southern

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

, an ancient supercontinent.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts the following three species: *''

Prumnopitys andina ''Prumnopitys andina'', the lleuque or Chilean plum yew,Prumnopitys montana ''Prumnopitys montana'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The Latin specific epithet ''montana'' refers to mountains or coming from mountains.Archibald William Smith Ref ...

'' – northwestern Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru *''

Prumnopitys taxifolia ''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī () or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island / Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up to high ...

'' – New Zealand

Formerly placed here

Six species formerly in ''Prumnopitys'' were placed in the new genus ''

Pectinopitys ''Pectinopitys'' is a small genus of conifers from South America and Australasia belonging to the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. It was split out from the '' Prumnopitys'' complex by Christopher Nigel Page in 2019 and is still considered as clo ...

'' in 2019, and many sources still include them in ''Prumnopitys''. *''

Pectinopitys exigua ''Pectinopitys'' is a small genus of conifers from South America and Australasia belonging to the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. It was split out from the '' Prumnopitys'' complex by Christopher Nigel Page in 2019 and is still considered as clos ...

'' (as ''

Prumnopitys exigua ''Prumnopitys exigua'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is endemic to Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features dive ...

'' ) *''

Pectinopitys ferruginea ''Pectinopitys ferruginea'', commonly known as miro or toromiro, is an evergreen coniferous tree which is endemic to New Zealand. Description It grows up to high, with a trunk up to 1.3 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 15� ...

'' (as ''Prumnopitys ferruginea'' ) *''

Pectinopitys ferruginoides ''Pectinopitys ferruginoides'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a tree endemic to New Caledonia. It is widespread on Grande Terre, New Caledonia's largest island, and is more common in the south. It grows in humid dens ...

'' (as ''Prumnopitys ferruginoides'' ) *''

Pectinopitys harmsiana ''Pectinopitys'' is a small genus of conifers from South America and Australasia belonging to the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. It was split out from the '' Prumnopitys'' complex by Christopher Nigel Page in 2019 and is still considered as clos ...

'' (as '' Prumnopitys harmsiana'' ) *''

Pectinopitys ladei ''Pectinopitys'' is a small genus of conifers from South America and Australasia belonging to the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. It was split out from the '' Prumnopitys'' complex by Christopher Nigel Page in 2019 and is still considered as clos ...

'' (as '' Prumnopitys ladei'' ) *''

Pectinopitys standleyi ''Pectinopitys standleyi'', commonly called ''cipresillo'', is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It grows up to in height, and is found mostly between altitude. It is found only in Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the ...

'' (as ''Prumnopitys standleyi'' )

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Prumnopitys'' have been described from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, including ''Prumnopitys tasmanica'' , ''Prumnopitys lanceolata'' , and ''Prumnopitys portensis'' .

Taxonomy

Although the genus ''Prumnopitys'' was first described in 1861, it was only from 1978 that it was widely distinguished as distinct from the allied genus ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...

'', despite the marked differences in cone development with different parts of the cone structure becoming fleshy and berry-like. Many older texts still have the species listed under ''Podocarpus''. In 2019 Christopher N. Page split six species into the new genus ''

'' based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic evidence. Page found that ''Prumnopitys'' and ''Pectinopitys'' are most closely related to ''

Sundacarpus ''Sundacarpus'' is a genus of conifers containing a single species ''Sundacarpus amarus'', belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. ''Sundacarpus'' was designated a genus by C.N.Page in 1989; formerly it had been classified variously as a species ...

''. The Chilean species for which the correct scientific name is ''

Prumnopitys andina ''Prumnopitys andina'', the lleuque or Chilean plum yew,Muñoz-Schick 1999); however this name is illegitimate (Mill & Quinn 2001). Several species of ''Prumnopitys'' are used for timber, though as they are slow-growing, supplies are very limited and over-cutting has led to some having an unfavourable conservation status.

References

Gymnosperm Database: ''Prumnopitys''
* de Laubenfels, D. J. 1978. The genus ''Prumnopitys'' (Podocarpaceae). ''Blumea'' 24: 189-190. * de Laubenfels, D. J. 1988. Coniferales. in ''Flora Malesiana'', Series I, 10: 337-453. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. * Molloy, B. P. J. & Muñoz-Schick, M. 1999. The correct name for the Chilean conifer Lleuque (Podocarpaceae). ''New Zealand J. Bot.'' 37: 189–193. Availabl
online
(pdf file). * Mill, R. R. & Quinn, C. J. 2001. Prumnopitys andina reinstated as the correct name for 'lleuque', the Chilean conifer recently renamed P. spicata (Podocarpaceae). ''Taxon'' 50: 1143 - 1154

{{Taxonbar, from=Q138688 Podocarpaceae genera Dioecious plants