Dacrydium beccarii

Parlatore 1867

Common names

"New Guinea: netukuria, New Britain, mejoop, Kebar valley; Taliabu: kawau; Borneo: kayu embun, Merurong Plateau, sempilor, Sarawak, Bintulu; Malaya: ekor kuda, Kedah; Sumatra: sampinur tali, Tapanuli" (de Laubenfels 1988).

Taxonomic notes

Corner described a variety, subelatum, subsequently assigned to D. elatum by de Laubenfels (1988).

Description

Shrub or small tree 1-20(35) m tall, profusely branched with the branches turned upward, often forming a dense umbrella- or dome-shaped crown. Leaves are crowded so that shoots resemble a furry animal's tail. Juvenile leaves are nearly straight, linear-lanceolate, becoming gradually curved forward, strongly keeled on three sides, nearly flat on the axial surface, up to 17 mm long, 0.2 mm wide and 0.1 mm thick. Adult leaves are spreading, bent slightly forward but the apiculate tips still directed slightly outward, triangular in cross section, 5-10 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide, 0.2 mm thick, crowded, linear-lanceolate. Cones are both lateral and terminal, subtended by about a dozen reduced leaves c. 1 mm long, the seed cone itself formed of a similar number of bracts up to 2 mm long and not completely covering the epimatium. There are 2(3) seeds fully exposed at the apex of the structure. Pollen cones are both lateral and terminal, 7-10 × 2.5-3 mm, subtended by a cluster of sterile 1-2 mm long bracts. Apex of the microsporophyll is a lanceolate spur c. 1 × 0.3 mm. Seeds shiny, dark brown, c. 4 mm long (de Laubenfels 1988).

Distribution and Ecology

Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal); New Guinea (incl. Normanby I. and New Britain); Moluccas (Taliabu); Philippines (Mindanao; Negros; Biliran I.); and (mainly W.) Borneo to Malaya and N. Sumatra; at elevations of 600-2500 m (mean 853 m). Within its range, mean annual temperature is 22.5°C, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 18.3°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 3200 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5).

"In the eastern part of the range there are only widely separated occurrences, and even in the western part they are somewhat discontinuous... Most common on mossy ridges where it is often dominant and also found rising above a low mixed mountain scrub." Soils varied, examples include sandy peat and andesite (de Laubenfels 1988).

Zone 10 (cold hardiness limit between -1°C and +4.4°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2023.02.21.

Observations

The tree occurs in montane ericaceous forests in the Taman Negara National Park, which may be an excellent place to find it.

Remarks

The epithet honors Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920), who collected the type specimen.

Citations

Parlatore, F. 1867. Coniferae (Ordo CXCIX). Pp. 361-521 in A. P. de Candolle and Alph. de Candolle (eds.), Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, vol. 16, part 2. Paris.

See also

Dallimore et al. 1967.