PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Podocarpaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides is native to the lowland areas of New Zealand. Within its range, the mean annual temperature is 11.0°c, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 1.6°c[1]. Plants are not very frost-tolerant, but when dormant can withstand occasional, short-lived temperatures falling to around -7°c[2, 1]. There is a mean annual precipitation of 2,913mm within its range[1]. Requires sheltered moist woodland conditions[3]. Although this is a lovely and distinctive tree at maturity, it tends to be scrawny as a sapling, and thus is not a popular ornamental[1].

Propagation

The seed can be very slow to germinate, often taking 18 months or more. It is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Give them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors. Cuttings of short leading shoots, late summer in a frame[5]. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. It side shoots are used as cuttings they will form prostrate plants[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Dacrycarpus+dacrydioides>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  2. [2]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  3. [3]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  7. [7]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  8. [8]New Zealand Native Tree Species Information — National Association of Woodworkers NZ Inc. · http://www.naw.org.nz/resources/tree_types.html ↩︎A series of information sheets (15 as of May 2017) in PDF format, giving information on some of the more important native timber trees of New Zealand,
  9. [9]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  10. [10]Flora of New Zealand. — Allan. H. H. · Government Printer, Wellington. · 1961 · http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Book.aspx?fileName=Flora%201.xml · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work, in 5 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats. There is also an on-line version.
  11. [11]Plants of New Zealand. — Laing. and Blackwell. · Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd · 1907 · ISBN - ↩︎An old flora of New Zealand in a readable style. Some details of plant uses.
  12. [12]Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. — Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. · Oxford University Press · 1991 · ISBN 0-19-558229-2 ↩︎An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.
  13. [13]Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. — Crowe. A. · Hodder and Stoughton · 1990 · ISBN 0-340-508302 ↩︎A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.
  14. [14]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  15. [15]People Plants Database — https://maoriplantuse.landcareresearch.co.nz/WebForms/default.aspx ↩︎An online database of New Zealand plants and their Maori names and uses. An excellent information source.
  16. [16]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  17. [17]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  18. [18]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.