Podocarpus bracteatus (Kayu unung unung) description

Podocarpus bracteatus

Blume 1827

Common names

Kayu unung unung (Sumatra), Toba Batak; bima, kimarak, kipantjar, ki putri (Java) (de Laubenfels 1988).

Taxonomic notes

Type Indonesia, Java Barat, Burangrang, C.L. von Blume 731 (holo L, iso P) (de Laubenfels 2015).

Synonymy (de Laubenfels 2015):

Podocarpus bracteatus Blume var. brevipes Blume 1847;
Nageia bracteata (Blume) F. Muell. 1876;
Podocarpus neriifolius D.Don var brevipes (Blume) Pilg. ex Engler 1903;
Podocarpus neriifolius D.Don var. bracteatus (Blume) Wasscher 1941.

See Podocarpus neriifolius for taxonomic notes on the 17 species in the P. neriifolius complex.

Description

Evergreen tree to 40 m tall and 100 cm dbh. Foliage buds 5-14 mm long with spreading lanceolate bud scales. Leaves dimorphic, juvenile vs. adult. Juvenile leaves up to 23 × 2 cm. Adult leaves with a 5 mm petiole, lanceolate, 7-17 cm × 8-13 mm, narrowly acute, upper midrib a sharp ridge 0.4 mm wide and 0.3 mm high, sometimes collapsing when dried into a trough. Pollen cones solitary, sessile, 35-50 × 3-4 mm, elongating when mature through the scaly base as well as the zone of microsporophylls and the scales then following, the elongated scaly base up to 8 mm long, solitary or occasionally in pairs. Seed cones on a 10-20 mm peduncle; foliola 4-5 mm long; receptacle 10-14 mm long, often with two fertile bracts and additional bracts between them. Seed with its epimatium 12-14 × 7 mm, with a small crest. Sterile specimens may resemble Podocarpus neriifolius, "but P. bracteatus has a narrower midrib, longer budscales, and a more distinctly lanceolate shape" (de Laubenfels 1988, 2015).

The most conspicuous characteristics include the lanceolate leaves and large foliage buds 5-14 mm long (de Laubenfels 2015).

Distribution and Ecology

Indonesia: Java and Sumatra. Grows in the canopy of primary rainforest at 1000-2600 m elevation (de Laubenfels 2015).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.19.

Ethnobotany

An excellent timber tree (de Laubenfels 1988).

Observations

I have seen no specific references, but de Laubenfels (2015) provides a list of specimens examined, some listed in sufficient detail to allow visiting the collection site.

Remarks

The epithet refers to the two conspicuous bracts at the base of the receptacle.

Citations

Blume, C. L. 1827. Enumeratio Plantarum Javae 1:88. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.01.19.

Laubenfels, David J. de. 2015. New sections and species of Podocarpus based on the taxonomic status of P. neriifolius (Podocarpaceae) in tropical Asia. Novon 24(2):133-152. https://doi.org/10.3417/2012091.