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BeeTooman · Vegan Zealot Joined: 12 May 2006 Posts: 980

Podocarps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acmopyle
Afrocarpus
Dacrycarpus
Dacrydium
Falcatifolium
Halocarpus
Lagarostrobos
Lepidothamnus
Manoao
Microcachrys
Microstrobos
Nageia
Parasitaxus
Phyllocladus
Podocarpus
Prumnopitys
Retrophyllum
Saxegothaea
Sundacarpus

Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, with 18-19 genera and about 170-200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. The family is a classic member of the Antarctic flora, with its main centres of diversity in Australasia, particularly New Caledonia, Tasmania and New Zealand, and to a slightly lesser extent, Malesia and South America (in the latter, primarily in the Andes mountains). Several genera extend north of the equator into Indo-China and/or the Philippines. Podocarpus additionally reaches as far north as southern Japan and southern China in Asia and Mexico in the Americas, and Nageia into southern China and southern India. Two genera also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the widespread Podocarpus and the endemic Afrocarpus.

One species, Parasitaxus usta, is unique as the only known parasitic conifer. It occurs on New Caledonia, where it is parasitic on another member of the Podocarpaceae, Falcatifolium taxoides.

The genus Phyllocladus, here included in Podocarpaceae on genetic evidence, is treated by some botanists in its own family Phyllocladaceae.

Quinn, C. J. & Price, R. A. Phylogeny of the Southern Hemisphere Conifers. Proc. Fourth International Conifer Conference 129-136 (2003).

Categories: Podocarpaceae | Conifers | Plant families

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