Podocarpus orarius

R.R.Mill & M.Whiting 2012

Common names

Dengali [Kwara'ae]; graoragota [Cheke Holo] (Mill and Whiting 2012).

Taxonomic notes

Syn. Podocarpus spathoides de Laub. var. solomonensis Silba 2000, P. spathoides subsp. solomonensis Silba 2010. Type Solomon Islands, T.C. Whitmore BSIP 5247 (holotype L, isotype K). Pending molecular analyses its position within Podocarpus is uncertain, except that it joins all of the other Malesian species in belonging to subgenus Foliolatus (Mill and Whiting 2012).

Description

Dioecious, single or multistemmed trees to 35 m tall and 20 cm dbh, with a narrow ellipsoid crown. Bark smooth, flaking, shallowly fissured; outer bark medium brown, inner bark pinkish brown, wood straw-coloured. Twigs first herbaceous, pale gray-green, later brownish; growing tip purplish. Terminal buds narrowly conical, 4–8 × 1 mm, protected by about 8 decussate, narrowly lanceolate scales in two series much longer than bud diameter; all scales lacking keels, purplish at base (fading with age), green towards tip, erect or only slightly recurved, margins distally hyaline. Juvenile and adult foliage leaves similar in shape and size; leaves spirally arranged, those of adult trees 6–25 mm apart and diverging at 60–85°, of juvenile trees 3–15 mm apart and diverging at 60–85°, all leaves with a 4–6 mm petiole, twisted, not or scarcely decurrent; light green tinged pink when flushing, maturing deep glossy green above but much paler beneath, younger leaves held suberect but older ones becoming horizontally spreading, elliptic or oblong, (50–)70–195 × (10–)12–20 mm, straight or falcate, thin, flexible and herbaceous at first becoming thicker, stiff and subcoriaceous with age; margin smooth and flat; midrib very narrow (0.2–0.3 mm wide) with an indistinct striate band on either side beneath, not or only slightly raised on both surfaces, not impressed on upper (adaxial) surface; apex acute but not ending in a drip-tip; base cuneate or short-attenuate. Pollen cones fertile at same time as leaf flush (early October), lateral, arising on current growth just above bud scales of previous season, solitary or paired, up to 12 together on a twig, on a 3-9 mm pedicel, straight, erect or spreading outwards, 20–36 × 2–3.5 mm, cream or lemon-yellow when fertile. Seed cones ripen after 12 months (early October), paired, lateral on a reproductive shoot subtended by a leaf or bract; borne among leaves on horizontal peduncles that are up to 16 mm long on fertile cones but 10-11 mm when the cone is ripe; receptacle fleshy when ripe, composed of 1 fertile and 1 or 2 sterile bracts, asymmetrical, rectangular-ellipsoid at maturity and then 10–13.5 mm along longest edge, 8.5–10.5 mm along shortest edge, 5.5–7.5 mm wide at top, green turning dark red when ripe, not glaucous at any stage; seed subglobose, 11–12 × 9–9.5 mm, laterally compressed, not crested; epimatium olive green even when fully ripe; cotyledons unknown (Mill and Whiting 2012).

Distribution and Ecology

Solomon Islands: Choiseul, San Jorge, Guadalcanal; Vanuatu: Aneityum, Erromango. Grows predominately at 0-60 m elevation (with at least one historical collection at 450 m elevation on Guadalcanal); in lowland primary and secondary coastal rainforest, often with Gymnostoma sp. (Mill and Gardner 2013).

The "Near Threatened" conservation status is tentative, as the species has been scantily documented and there is no baseline from which to infer a decline; however, "Local information suggests that it is likely that these largely intact forests will be targeted for their timber in the near future" (Mill and Whiting 2012), so there is a high probability of habitat loss due to land use conversion, especially since this species is primarily associated with low-elevation forests near the coast.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.08.

Ethnobotany

The existence of a common name in the local indigenous language (Mill and Whiting 2012) suggests there must be some human use of the species, but it has not been documented.

Observations

See Mill and Whiting (2012) for confirmed collection locales.

Remarks

"The epithet orarius is Latin for ‘coastal’ and alludes to what appears to be, from the majority of collections seen, the typical habitat of the species" (Mill and Whiting 2012).

Citations

Mill, R. R., and M. Whiting. 2012. Podocarpus orarius (Podocarpaceae), a new species from the Solomon Islands and a taxonomic clarification of Podocarpus spathoides from Malaysia. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 64(1):171–193.

Mill, R. R. and M. Gardner. 2013. Podocarpus orarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T18153764A18153767. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T18153764A18153767.en, accessed 2023.01.08.

Silba, J. 2000. Variation geographic et populations isole de les gymnospermes rarissime. J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 7(1):17–40.

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.