Podocarpus brasiliensis

de Laub. 1982

Common names

Pineirino-da-serra.

Taxonomic notes

Syn. Podocarpus barretoi de Laub. & Silba 1990, which even by de Laubenfels and Silba's description differs only in extremely minor leaf characters. Although systematic analyses have not yet been done on this species, all tropical South American species analyzed to date share a clade within Podocarpus (Knopf et al. 2011), so it is likely that P. brasiliensis is in the same group.

Description

Trees to 15 m tall and 30 cm dbh, with spreading branches forming a broad-pyramidal to rounded crown. Bark not described. Twigs round, finely grooved, with terminal buds 3-4 mm wide having broad-triangular scales, the outer scales to 4 mm long with an acute, free apex. Leaves on mature trees (juvenile not described) lustrous green above, dull green below, coriaceous, elliptic-linear or slightly oblanceolate, 5-10 cm × 9-14 mm, tapering to a petiolate base, flat or slightly revolute margins, apex obtuse to slightly acuminate; upper side midrib <1 mm wide, flat or with a central groove, nearly continuous; lower midrib wider, flat or slightly raised, continuous to apex. Stomata numerous, small, in intermittent lines on both sides of lower midrib. Pollen cones axillary, solitary, sessile, ca. 30 × 3 mm when fertile. Seed cones axillary, solitary on 5-12 mm peduncles, ripe receptacle red, succulent, 7-8 × 4-5 mm, composed of an axis with 2 fused, unequal bracts. Seeds solitary, 7-8 mm long with epimatium, broad-ovoid with a slight crest (Stevenson 1991, Farjon 2010). Close attention to the bud and leaf characters allow mature trees to be differentiated from P. sellowii, also a widespread species in the cerrado vegetation type, often confused with P. brasiliensis.

Distribution and Ecology

Brazil: Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Roraima; Venezuela. The distribution is on both north and south sides of the Amazon rainforest, which contains no conifers. Occurs at 800-1600 m elevation, primarily in two vegetation types. One is riparian forest within the cerrado, a savanna-like vegetation type that covers 22% of Brazil. Climate features mean annual rainfall of 1600 mm, 75% of which falls from November through January. Mean annual temperatures range between 18°C and 20°C. In these forests Podocarpus brasiliensis commonly occurs with P. sellowii and angiosperm trees of the Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Rutaceae families. Podocarpus brasiliensis also grows in dwarf forest on the tepuis of Venezuela. (Farjon 2010, Ledru et al. 2007).

The IUCN has assessed this species as "Least Concern" due to its wide distribution and occurrence in some very remote localities, where threats are minimal (Farjon 2013). However, Ciccantini (e-mail, 2009.04.01) reports that a highly endangered population occurs at the Reserva de Guará, in Distrito Federal, Guará County, in a very small territory of few hectares of wetland in the middle of a vast cerrado.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.05.

Ethnobotany

No use is known. It is too small and remote to be commercially useful, though use by local or indigenous peoples may occur. It is not known in cultivation (Farjon 2010).

Observations

See the collection records on iNaturalist.

Remarks

The epithet means "of Brazil".

Citations

Ceccantini, Gregório, Universidade da São Paulo, Instituto de Biociencias, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail, 2007.08.02.

Farjon, Aljos. 2013. Podocarpus brasiliensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T42490A2982719. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42490A2982719.en, accessed 2023.01.05.

de Laubefels, D.J. Podocarpaceae. 1982. Flora de Venezuela 11(2):7-41 (p. 31). [not online]

de Laubefels, D.J. and J. Silba. 1990. A supplement to the International Census of the Coniferae II. Phytologia 68:65. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2022.12.24.

Ledru, Marie-Pierre, Maria Luisa Ferraz Salatino, Gregorio Ceccantini, Antonio Salatino, Fabio Pinheiro, and Jean-Christophe Pintaud. 2007. Regional assessment of the impact of climatic change on the distribution of a tropical conifer in the lowlands of South America. Diversity and Distributions 13(6):761–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00389.x.

See also

POWO has more information and some photos (accessed 2023.01.05).