The type specimen. There appear to be no drawings or photographs of this species.
Conservation Status
Dacrydium magnum
No common names are recorded.
Type: Indonesia, Maluku, Obi, G. A. L. de Haan bb 23.806 (holotype L0050814). Syn: Corneria magna (de Laub.) A.V.Bobrov & Melikyan; D. beccari var. rudens de Laub. pro parte. "The variety rudens was applied to collections from Tagula I. that tend to be more gracile than elsewhere but otherwise are not distinct" (de Laubenfels 1988). The phylogenetic position is uncertain; see Dacrydium for discussion.
"Tree, 8-30 m tall, 5-60 cm diam. Branches dense, spreading, upturned. Juvenile leaves spreading widely, slightly curved forward at the tip, pungent, triangular in cross section, gracile, up to at least 18 mm long. Adult leaves spreading at about a 45° angle and strongly curved forward so that the apiculate tip is parallel to the branch or bent slightly inward, forming a compact rope-like branch system, linear-lanceolate, 3-6 mm long but nearly uniform on a branch, 0.3-0.4 × 0.2-0.3 mm. Fertile structures mostly terminal but occasionally on short lateral branches, the subtending leaves hardly distinguishable from ordinary foliage leaves. Pollen cones 10-16 mm long and 2 mm in diameter. Apex of the microsporophyll a lanceolate spur 1.5-2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide at the base. Seed-bearing structure formed of more or less straight and slightly spreading leaf-like bracts which cover the base of the seed. The ripe fruit reported to be brown but possibly an old fruit as has been observed in other species. Seed 5 mm long, often two seeds per cone" (de Laubenfels 1988).
Indonesia (Obi Island in the Moluccas); Papua New Guinea (Sudest Island in the Louisiades); Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal, Choiseul, S. Ysabel). Rare, but "locally common in the canopy of moist tropical forest between 60 and 1200 m, often along ridge crests where it has a somewhat reduced stature" (de Laubenfels 1988).
Distribution data for all species, from GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.yvmru2 accessed 2025.12.08. D. magnum color is dark olive-green. Click on any point for more info.
In 2010 the IUCN assessed the conservation status of this species as "Near Threatened" based on an approximate extent of occurrence of 1,400 km² in two disjunct ranges, one mostly E of New Guinea and the other on Obi Island in the Moluccas. An area of occupancy estimate is even more difficult to estimate, but it is likely that both measures would fall within the thresholds for Endangered. The Obi Island subpopulation is likely to be partially protected in Pulau Obi Nature Reserve. Decline has likely occurred on Tagula Island in the Louisiades. This rationale appears to support an "Endangered" designation rather than "Near Threatened".
No data as of 2026-01-10.
No records, but it can grow to be a good-sized forest tree and, like other Dacrydium, presumably has a desirable decay-resistant wood. It is likely subject to occasional exploitation for its timber. It is not known to be in cultivation, not even in botanical gardens.
No data as of 2026-01-10.
No data as of 2026-01-10.
de Laubenfels, D. J. 1969. A revision of the Malesian and Pacific rainforest conifers, I. Podocarpaceae, in part. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 50:299-300. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.12.14.
de Laubenfels, David J. 1988. Coniferales. P. 337-453 in Flora Malesiana, Series I, Vol. 10. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.12.11.
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Copyright 2026 The Gymnosperm Database
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
This page accessed on Friday, October 23, 2026
Last Modified 2026-01-10
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