Podocarpus brevifolius
Vietnamese: Thông tre lá ngan (FIPI 1996).
Syn: P. neriifolius var. brevifolius Stapf 1894 (Farjon 1998).
Evergreen trees 10-15 m tall and 20-30 cm dbh. Branchlets densely verticillate. Bark thin, greyish yellow, smooth, splitting into pieces, fibrous. Inner bark red-brown and aromatic. Leaves alternate, verticillate at branch-tips, coriaceous, oblong elliptic, lanceolate, 13-36 mm long and 3-5 mm wide, obtuse at apex, cuneate at base, margin entire, rather downcurved towards base, green above, greenish below. Nerves evident on both surfaces. Petioles short. Cones dioecious, male cones spike-like, solitary or in fascicles of 2-3, axillary, sessile, about 1.5-3 cm long. Female cones solitary, axillary. Seeds globose, receptacle fleshy, 7-10 mm in diameter. Flowers twice annually (FIPI 1996).
Philippines, Indonesia, China (Guangxi and Guangdong) and Vietnam. In Vietnam found in Quang Ninh and Hoa binh (Mai Chau district). Often found in evergreen tropical broad-leaved forests or in subtropical forests, from 900 to 1500 m elevation. A neutral and shade-tolerant tree when young, usually growing on limestone. Seedlings and saplings grow very well under the shade of mother trees (FIPI 1996).
The IUCN reports that this species is "Near Threatened" with extinction in the wild because the population is already very small and restricted in distribution, and could be devastated by a chance occurrence that could be caused by human action.
Timber dark brown, grain straight and fine, hard and heavy (density 0.68-0.76), decay resistant. Used in construction, house building, making of musical instruments and carving. It is also useful for waterworks construction such as bridges (FIPI 1996).
Gray, Netta E. 1958. A Taxonomic Revision of Podocarpus, XI. The South Pacific Species of Section Podocarpus, Subsection B. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 39:441. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.01.08.
Last Modified 2023-02-26
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