Podocarpus coriaceus (Resinier moutaigue) description

Podocarpus coriaceus

Rich. ex A. Rich. 1826

Common names

Resinier moutaigue, raisinier mountayn (Dominica); wild pitch pine, resinier montayne, wezinye moutayn, wézinyé moutayn, (Montserrat); caoba del pais, caobilla (Puerto Rico); weedee (Nevis); wild pine (St. Kitts); lowyé woz (St. Lucia); granadillo (Trinidad & Tobago) (Mill 2015 and sources therein).

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy:

Nageia coriacea (Rich.) F.Muell. 1876;
Taxus lancifolia Wikstr. 1827;
Podocarpus jamaicensis Nelson 1866 p.p.;
Podocarpus coriaceus var. sulcatus Pilger 1903.

Type: Montserrat. J. Ryan s.n. (holotype BM).

See Mill (2015) for extensive notes on synonymy. See Podocarpus angustifolius for notes on phylogenetic relationships between the Caribbean species of Podocarpus.

Description

Dioecious evergreen shrubs or trees to 10(-20) m tall and 50 cm dbh, with a crown of spreading, contorted branches. Bark first brown, thick and smooth, becoming gray, fissured and scaly, exfoliating in shaggy strips. Twigs thick, stiff, round, grooved and ridged, with large broad-ovoid terminal buds having 3-6 mm long ovate-apiculate scales that are free at the apex, some scales elongated to 10 mm or longer. Leaves on mature trees 5-12 cm × 7-14 mm (on juvenile trees up to 22 cm × 17 mm), coriaceous, dark green above and dull green below, straight or slightly falcate, linear-lanceolate to linear, narrowing to a near sessile base, margins flat to slightly revolute, tapering to an acute apex, midrib on upper side thin and proximally raised, on lower side continuous to apex. Stomata small, in intermittent lines on both sides of lower midrib. Pollen cones axillary, solitary or paired, sessile, when fertile 50-60 × 3-4 mm. Seed cones axillary, solitary on 4-8 mm peduncles, ripe receptacles succulent, red, 7-9 × 6-7 mm, seed in epimatium green, 8-10 × 6-7 mm, obliquely ovoid with a beaked crest (Farjon 2010; see also Mill 2015). Phenology seems to be highly variable, with both flushing leaves and fertile pollen cones collected at widely varying times of the year and with variable timing relative to local wet and dry seasons (Mill 2015).

Most specimens have leaves >100 mm long, longer than any other Caribbean species of Podocarpus; the buds and bud scales are also longer than in the other species, and the leaves never have an aristate point. P. trinitensis of Trinidad & Tobago, has leaves with the midrib impressed in a groove beneath and raised above, and terminal buds less than 3 mm long (Mill 2015).

Distribution and Ecology

Dominica; France: Guadeloupe, Martinique; Saint Lucia; Saint Kitts & Nevis; Trinidad & Tobago; UK: Montserrat; USA: Puerto Rico (all are Caribbean islands). Presence on Trinidad & Tobago is unclear; Farjon (2010) places it there, Mill (2015) does not, but neither author provides discussion. It is the only Podocarpus native to Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. Occurs on volcanic rock and ultramafics; does not occur on limestones. It is a plant of the mountains, primarily found on windswept mountain ridges and summits at 450-1370 m elevation; most occurrences are on the upper portions of a local mountain massif and extend from about 600 m to the summit. The highest elevation occurrence is on Dominica, at 1370 m (Farjon 2010, Mill 2015). Based on data from 15 collection localities, it grows at sites with a mean annual temperature is 24.1°C, and an average minimum in the coldest month of 17.9°C; and a mean annual precipitation of 2220 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5). Zone 10 (cold hardiness limit between -1°C and +4.4°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Distribution data for all species native to the Caribbean, based on confirmed specimens cited by Mill (2015), using data from herbarium sheets. Data include both latitude/longitude and narrative location descriptions; coordinate uncertainty generally <5000 m. Podocarpus coriaceus shown in purple.

Vegetation associations vary, but throughout, it is found in dense humid montane or submontane tropical cloud forests and montane thickets (Mill 2015). The species is late-successional and shade tolerant. Regional vegetation associations include:

Guadeloupe: Occurs at Bains Jaunes in Dacryodes/Sloanea forest, and at Mamelle de Petit-Bourg in association with Philodendron and Clusia mangle as well as Lobelia stricta, Epidendrum patens, Pitcairnia bifrons, Prestoea montana, Cyathea cf. arborea, Utricularia alpina, Dichaea hookeri and Nephrolepis cf. rivularis (Mill 2015).
Martinique: Occurs in rainforest and on ridgetops with various species of Clusia such as C. major, C. mangle, and C. plukenetii; in rainforest it is an understory tree (Mill 2015).
Montserrat: Occurs as a rainforest dominant near the upper level of intermediate moist slopes; associated dominants include Asplundia rigida, Beilschmiedia pendula, Cecropia peltata, Ceiba pentandra, Dacryodes excelsa, Schefflera attenuata, Guatteria caribaea, Ixora ferrea, Marcgravia umbellata, Micropholis guyanensis, and Richeria grandis (Mill 2015).
Puerto Rico: Occurs in two disjunct areas, but not in seemingly suitable habitat at intermediate locations. In Maricao State Forest in the southwest of the island, it occurs in scrubby mountain forest on deep ultramafic-derived soils on rocky ridges, where the forest has a nearly continuous canopy 15–20 m tall. Associated dominants include Buchenavia tetraphylla, Magnolia portoricensis, Matayba domingensis, Micropholis guyanensis, Ocotea acunaiana, Sloanea amygdalina and others. It also occurs at El Yunque in the eastern part of the island; forest type not described, but the substrate is volcaniclastic rocks rather than ultramafics (Mill 2015, Seiders 1971).
St. Kitts: Occurs in evergreen cloud forest, in the "elfin woodland" which occurs above about 600 m elevation and consists of a low, tangled growth with mosses and epiphytes; here Podocarpus is condominant with Miconia spp. (Ecoengineering Caribbean Ltd. 2010). It is also codominant with Hedyosmum (Mill 2015).

The IUCN assesses P. coriaceus as "Least Concern". Although there may have been population declines in the past due to the logging of larger, accessible trees, there appears to be no recent or continuing decline (Farjon 2013).

P. coriaceus has documented symbioses with orchids, fungi, and wildlife, as summarized by Mill (2015). Examples include:

Host plant for many lichens and other epiphytes.
Sole known host for three species of orchid on St. Lucia.
Sole known host for the orchid Lepanthes aurea on Guadeloupe, where it also hosts many other orchids.
Parasitized by several species of the fungus Corynelia. Two of these, C. jamaicensis and C. portoricensis, have not been recorded for 80 years and may be extinct.
The P. coriaceus forest of Puerto Rico is the most important habitat type for the endangered elfin wood warbler, Setophaga angelae, which occurs only in the Sierra de Luquillo in the east and in the Maricao State Forest in the west; its distribution therefore matches the Puerto Rican distribution of P. coriaceus.
Three species of oribatid mite have been collected from P. coriaceus forest litter and logs on Guadeloupe, but then, most conifers have unexplored roles in arthropod life cycles.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.15.

Ethnobotany

No uses are recorded. In earlier times, when larger trees were to be found, it was probably used for construction and general carpentry, and there may be some use for firewood (Farjon 2010).

Observations

In Puerto Rico, nearly all botanical records are from along highway PR120 in the "Ruta Panoramica" which follows a ridgeline on the border between Maricao and San German counties; or, from near the summit of El Yunque, e.g. along the Big Tree Trail in El Yunque National Forest. In both areas, the species seems to be common at elevations of >800 m.

On Dominica, it can be found near the summit of Morne Diablotins, 1370 m, the highest peak in Dominica and the highest occurrence of this species. A hiking trail leads to the summit. It can also be found on Morne Trois Pitons, a national park near the south end of island.

Guadeloupe has also seen many collections, most of which have been in the vicinity of Bains Jaunes near the summit of La Grande Soufriere, mostly at elevations of 800-1100 m. There have also been quite a few collections where the D23 road crosses the mountains a few kilometers to the north, near Les Mamelles, at elevations above 600 m. I believe both areas are within the Parc national de la Guadeloupe.

In Martinique, it has been collected at Piton Dumauzé, an isolated peak that appears to offer reasonable road access, and here it is found at 580 to 770 m elevation.

Montserrat looks challenging; collections have been in St. George's Parish near the top of Katy Hill (no trails shown on maps I have seen), and at elevations above 600 m on Chance's Peak (but access looks difficult and dangerous; it's an active volcano).

St. Kitts collections have been at 450-580 m elevation in the Central Forest Reserve National Park, particularly on Olivees Mountain. No trails are evident on maps.

Nevis collections have been along the trail up Nevis Peak on Nevis.

Also see the collection records on iNaturalist.

Remarks

The epithet is from the Latin corium, "skin", and refers to the leathery texture of the leaves.

Citations

Ecoengineering Caribbean Limited. 2010. Protected Areas Systems Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis. Available www.conservationgateway.org, accessed 2023.01.15.

Farjon, A. 2013. Podocarpus coriaceus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T42496A2982986. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42496A2982986.en, accessed 2023.01.15.

Mill, R. R. 2015. A monographic revision of the genus Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae): II. The species of the Caribbean bioregion. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 72 (1): 61–185. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960428614000328.

Richard, A. 1826. Commentatio Botanica De Conifereis Et Cycadeis, p. 14. Available: Real Jardín Botánico, accessed 2023.01.08.

Seiders, V . M . 1971. Geologic map of the El Yunque quadrangle, Puerto Rico. US Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-658, scale 1.20,000. Puerto Rico: United States Geologic Survey, Department of the Interior. Available: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i658, accessed 2023.01.15.