An image of an isotype is available at POWO.
An image of an isotype is available at POWO.
Podocarpus spathoides
None recorded (Farjon 2010, Mill and Whiting 2012).
Podocarpus spathoides as originally described was based on material from at least two different species, P. spathoides and P. orarius, thus the descriptions by de Laubenfels (1985, 1988) are of limited use. See Mill and Whiting (2012) for details. The variety P. spathoides de Laub. var. solomonensis Silba (2000) has been placed in synonymy with P. orarius.
Type Malaysia, Gunung Ledang (Mt. Ophir), elev. 3500 feet (1067 m.), 1978.07.27, de Laubenfels 600, holotype L. Sterile plant.
Trees to 4 m tall. Branch architecture, crown form and bark characters not described. Twigs greenish-brown. Terminal buds globose, 3.5 × 3 mm, protected by at least 8 decussate scales in at least three series; outermost scales c. 2.5 × 0.5–0.3 mm, lanceolate or ovate, middle ones c. 3.5 × 0.8 mm, longer and slightly narrower than the inner which are c. 2.7 × 1 mm; all scales lacking keels, outer ones purplish tinged, inner ones brownish, outer ones acute with recurved or reflexed tips, inner ones obtuse and erect, their margins entire, hyaline in distal half, the laminar part of the scale smooth. Leaves spirally arranged, with a 5-8 mm petiole, narrowly elliptic, straight (not falcate), red or purplish and glaucous at first flush, maturing dark green and glossy above, paler beneath, coriaceous, stiff, flat-margined, with a raised broad (1.3-2 mm) midrib on both upper and lower surfaces, with a striate band on each side of the lower midrib and a matching broad depressed channel on each side of the upper midrib, apex obtuse, base cuneate or short-attenuate. Other leaf characters are dimorphic between juvenile and adult plants: Adult leaves 3–8 mm apart and diverging from axis at 45–60°, (30–)55–85 mm long, 9.5–13 mm wide. Juvenile leaves 5–14 mm apart and diverging at 50–85°, 65–100 mm long, 14–20 mm wide. Pollen and seed cones not described, although de Laubenfels (1985) stated “Female cones on 2–6 mm peduncles; basal foliola 1.5 mm long; receptacle 5 mm long; seed 7 × 5 mm” (Mill and Whiting 2012).
Malaysia: Gunung Ledang (Mt. Ophir), possibly Sarawak, in low shrubby vegetation and stunted forest at ca. 1000-1275 m elevation, above the limit of Podocarpus ridley. Other occurrences reported by de Laubenfels (1988) are now thought to represent unresolved taxa (Mill and Whiting 2012).
No data as of 2023.01.08.
No uses have been recorded (de Laubenfels 1988, Farjon 2010).
The only place Podocarpus spathoides can definitely be found is on Mt. Ophir in Gunung Ledang National Park; it is a popular dayhike.
The epithet is from the Latin spatha, a spatula or shovel, and refers to the shape of the leaves.
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.
Silba, J. (2000) Variation geographic et populations isole de les gymnospermes rarissime. J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 7(1):17–40.
GBIF provides an inventory of collections, observations, and herbarium sheet images, but see Mill and Whiting (2012) regarding interpretation of these data.
Last Modified 2023-02-26
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