Podocarpus elatus
Podocarpus elatus
Safety & Hazards
Superficially similar to Taxus species, but this plant is definitely not poisonous[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ].
Botanical Description
Podocarpus elatus is an evergreen tree with a dense, dark-green crown; it can grow up to 40 metres tall. The bole, which is often irregular, especially at the base, can be up to 90cm in diameter. The tree does not have cones like other conifers but instead have a single seed attached by a fleshy stem to the branch[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. The edible fruit is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use. The high quality wood is exploited commercially, though only on a small scale since most of the area in which it grows is protected. This species is occasionally planted as a park or street ornamental tree; in deforested areas turned over to agriculture mature individuals may have been retained as amenity trees. Podocarpus elatus has a wide distribution and is present in numerous forest reserves, where logging is either banned or limited to allow natural regeneration. Past decline has come to a halt in almost all locations where this species still occurs and there is potential for increase in future with changed forestry practices. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].