Var. madagascariensis in habitat, showing twig, stiff-coriaceous foliage, and a glaucous immature seed cone. iNaturalist observation 17309626 [ravorama, 2018.10].
Var. madagascariensis in habitat, showing twig, upper and lower sides of foliage, and a ripe seed cone with its diminutive receptacle. iNaturalist observation 9751044 [Rahaingoson Fabien, 2018.02].
(var. madagascariensis)
(var. procerus)
(var. rotundus)
Podocarpus madagascariensis
Hetatra, tsindrodravina [Malagasy].
Syn: Nageia madagascariensis (Baker) Kuntze 1891. There are three varieties, distinguished by foliage and geographic distribution (Farjon 2010):
There are, in this treatment, five species and two varieties of Podocarpus on Madagascar, all endemic. They all belong to subgenus Podocarpus, section Scytopodium (de Laubenfels 1985). The only molecular taxonomic work to consider this group is the Podocarpaceae-wide molecular and morphological study by Knopf et al. (2012), which considered 2 of the 7 taxa (P. capuronii and P. madagascariensis var. madagascariensis) and assigned them to a clade shared with all of the African species. Leaf cuticle micromorphology has also proven to be a useful source of taxonomic characters in Podocarpus, and the analysis by Stockey et al. (1998), considering all Madagascar taxa of Podocarpus, found them very similar, particularly so for the varieties of P. madagascariensis.
The sole known specimen of Podocarpus neoprumnopitys Silba is visible on GBIF; it consists of two photographs and was not validly published, classed as an "unplaced name" by POWO (both accessed 2023.02.05). It appears to be a normal specimen of P. madagascariensis.
Dioecious shrubs or trees to 25 m tall and 60 cm dbh, with numerous spreading branches. Bark first thin, light brown, in older trees exfoliating in small flakes or later in strips, weathering gray. Twigs stout, round. Foliage buds subglobose, 4-6 mm diameter, with imbricate, ovate, weakly acuminate scales with a scarious upper margin. Leaves mostly not dimorphic; petiolate, lustrous green above, dull green below, elliptic-oblong to linear, margins slightly revolute, upper midrib inconspicuous and often fading out distally, lower midrib more distinct and continuous with abruptly raised edges. Leaf size and texture vary between varieties, described below. Pollen cones axillary, in groups of 1-3 on short peduncles, subtended by imbricate rounded bud scales, 15-25 × 4-5 mm. Seed cones axillary, solitary on 15-23 mm peduncles, swelling slightly to a 4-5 mm long receptacle. Seed within epimatium ovoid-globose, 15-23 mm long, weakly crested, glaucous olive green ripening to brownish black (Farjon 2010). The varieties may be distinguished as follows:
Var. madagascariensis has stiffly coriaceous leaves 30-150 × 5-14 mm with variably acute or obtuse apex and seeds variably ovoid to globose. Its occurrence is widespread, discussed below.
Var. procerus has thin-coriaceous, lax, drooping leaves 50-130 × 4-6.5 mm, usually with an acute apex. It is only found near Tolarnaro (Fort Dauphin) and the Massif de Bekolosy.
Var. rotundus has coriaceous leaves 50-70 × 4-6 mm with an acuminate or long-attenuate apex, and globose seeds. It is only found on the Massif de Bekolosy and the Massif du Manongarivo in far NW Madagascar.
The remarkably large leaves are the easiest way to distinguish this species from other Madagascar Podocarpus; any plant with most leaves >7.5 cm long will be P. madagascariensis. Among plants with smaller leaves, the globose foliage buds and rounded to ovate bud scales distinguish P. madagascariensis (Farjon 2010).
Madagascar. Var. madagascariensis is widely distributed along eastern plateaus and mountains, at elevations of 350-2520 m, in moist forests at lower elevations and on forested ridges and escarpments at higher elevations. In lowland forest it can be 25 m tall and share the forest canopy with evergreen tropical angiosperms; on exposed mountainous sites it can be a shrub or small tree in sclerophyllous woodland on relatively dry sites with abundant canopy lichens. Var. procerus is from near sea level to about 1000 m elevation on sand or sandstone substrates, and var. rotundus is found at 1500-1800 m elevation on volcanic rocks (Farjon 2010).
Distribution data for all species native to Madagascar, based on identified specimens listed by GBIF (2023). Each point includes a link to more data and, in most cases, an image. Podocarpus madagascarienses shown in red, with var. madagascariensis in orange, var. procerus in yellow, and var. rotundus in pale yellow-green.
The IUCN assesses var. madagascariensis as "Near Threatened"; the area of occupancy is uncertain but is likely in excess of 2,000 km². There is ongoing decline due to habitat loss through deforestation in the lowlands, and logging of the trees continues. The variety is protected in at least three reserves, Andringitra, Zahamena, and Analamazaotra National Parks (Farjon 2013a). Var. procerus is assessed as "Endangered" due to its rarity and very small area of occupancy, which leave it highly vulnerable to habitat loss through deforestation. The variety does occur in one protected area, the Forêt de Bemangidy near Fort Dauphin (Farjon 2013b). Var. rotundus is assessed as "Data Deficient" due to the extremely scanty location information, limited to three highly disjunct locations. As with the other varieties, the primary threats are logging and habitat loss through deforestation. The variety is not known to occur in any protected areas (Farjon 2013c).
No data as of 2023.01.23.
The species was formerly used in construction, but the larger and more accessible trees have now mostly been logged, and no current use is likely. The species is not planted commercially and is rare in cultivation (Farjon 2010).
See the map above for recorded observation locales.
The epithet refers to Madagascar. The epithet procerus means "tall" and likely refers to the species' occurrence as a canopy tree in lowland forest. The epithet rotundus means "round" and likely refers to the globose seeds.
Baker, John Gilbert. 1885. Further Contributions to the Flora of Central Madagascar. Journal of the Linnean Society of London: Botany 21:447. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.01.07.
Farjon, A. 2013a. Podocarpus madagascariensis var. madagascariensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T46512559A46512880. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T46512559A46512880.en, accessed 2023.02.05.
Farjon, A. 2013b. Podocarpus madagascariensis var. procerus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T39610A2930654. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T39610A2930654.en, accessed 2023.02.05.
Farjon, A. 2013c. Podocarpus madagascariensis var. rotundus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T46512613A46513241. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T46512613A46513241.en, accessed 2023.02.05.
GBIF. 2023. GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.gufx65, accessed 2023.02.05.
Laubenfels, D. J. de. 1971. Deux nouveaux Podocarpus endemiques de Madagascar. Adansonia ser. 2, 11(4):715. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.02.05.
Laurent, L. 1915. Les Podocarpus de Madagascar. Annales Faculté des Sciences de Marseille 23:52-64.
Stockey, Ruth A., Brenda J. Frevel, and Philippe Woltz. 1998. Cuticle micromorphology of Podocarpus, Subgenus Podocarpus, Section Scytopodium (Podocarpaceae) of Madagascar and South Africa. Int. J. Plant Sci. 159(6):923–940.
Gade, Daniel W. 1996. Deforestation and its effects in highland Madagascar. Mountain Research and Development 16(2):101–116.
The PROTA database account for this species (accessed 2019.02.28). PROTA accounts are focused on commercial forest uses in Africa, and typically include photographs, drawings, names, distribution, and a variety of information relevant to management of the species.
The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.
Last Modified 2023-02-26
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