Podocarpus brassii (baugwa) description

Conservation Status

Podocarpus brassii

Pilger (1937)

Common names

"baugwa, baula [Chimbu, Waimambano], chuga [Chimbu], kaibigltuga [Minj], kaipil [Wahgi, Minj], karbuku [Komia] , maja [Mairi, Mondo], mbagua [Chimbu], tsula [Chimbu, Masul]" (Van Royen 1979).

Taxonomic notes

Two varieties:

Podocarpus brassii var. brassii. Type: Papua New Guinea, Owen Stanley Range, Mt. Albert Edward, L. J. Brass 4395 (lectotype K).
Podocarpus brassii var. humilis. Type: Papua New Guinea, Telefomin District, Mt. Capella, C. Barker LAE 67278 (holotype L). Syn. Podocarpus brassii subsp. humilis (Pilg.) Silba.

Placed in Podocarpus subgenus Foliolatus section Macrostachyes by de Laubenfels (2015); this section includes a group of species found in mountainous areas from E India E through New Guinea. The only molecular study to date that has evaluated essentially all taxa in Podocarpus (Khan et al. 2023) placed P. brassii sister to a rather large clade including 29 different taxa in subgenus Foliolatus.

Description

"Trees or bushy shrubs, up to 15 m tall, often crooked and gnarled. Bark reddish brown, pale brown, fibrous, or pale grey-brown with broad and narrow longitudinal grooves. Inner bark yellow brown or pale orange-brown. Wood yellowish brown, sometimes slightly purplish. Branchlets stoutish, angular, terminal buds globose, 5-7 mm across, scales often spreading, ovate-lanceolate, 5-8 by 3-5 mm, acuminate, crested, tip curving outward. Leaves crowded, dark green, underside often glaucous and margin reddish, young ones reddish or light green with reddish margins, coriaceous, broadly lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, 10-18(-25) by 3-7 mm when mature, but young ones often larger, acute or obtusely apiculate, narrowly cuneate at base, midrib narrow and prominent to subprominent above, rounded, broader and prominent below, margin revolute, often entire leaf concave and curved upwards. Petioles 0.5-2 mm long, flat above, crested below. Male cones axillary, solitary, cylindric, 2.5-3 by 0.3-0.7 cm, sessile, at base enveloped by a few scales, these bracts ovate-triangular, 3-6 by 2-5 mm, obtuse or acute, apical ones hook-tipped, all crested and slightly curving outward, microsporophylls imbricate, 3.5-4 by 1-1.5 mm, apiculus triangular or oblong, 1.5-2 mm long, acute, margin scarious, anther-cells at base, ellipsoid-ovoid, 1 mm long. Female cone solitary, axillary. Peduncle thick and fleshy, 2-9 mm long. Receptacle reddish purple, composed of 2 or 3 fleshy, fused, 5-9 by 2.5-7 mm large scales, subtended by 2 narrowly triangular, 2.5-3 by 1.5-2 mm large bracts. Ovules usually solitary. Seeds purplish or blackish when ripe, ellipsoid-globose, 7-10 by 5-6 mm, rounded at tip and base" (Van Royen 1979).

Var. brassii includes trees to 15 m tall with pollen cones 6-8 mm wide when mature, the microsporophylls having an elongated, reddish or pink apex. Var. humilis includes shrubs or trees to 6 m tall with mature pollen cones 3-4 mm wide, the microsporophylls also small, with a triangular apex (Farjon 2010).

Distribution and Ecology

New Guinea, widely distributed in higher mountains (map at right). Found at 1750-4000 m elevation. Based on data from 46 collection localities, its climate preferences include a mean annual temperature of 12.5°C, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 6.3°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 3148 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5). These elevations correspond to upper montane to alpine regions. Vegetation includes high montane evergreen forest, subalpine mossy forest, subalpine to alpine scrubland, and in or along the edges of alpine grassland. The two varieties are separated by elevation, with var. humilis growing as a decumbent shrub or small tree at 2510-3600 m elevation, while var. brassii is mostly found as a tree (stunted at the highest elevations) at 3100-4000 m elevation. It wet areas near pools var. humilis is decumbent and forms mats only 15-30 cm tall. The timberline is commonly at about 3600-3700 m elevation and above this level the occasional specimen of var. brassii is a small tree emergent above shrubbery or in acidic, boggy grassland. The species also occurs rarely in tall forest, where it can become a straight-boled tree up to 30 m tall and 75 cm dbh. Associated conifers are mostly in the upper montane zone and include Araucaria cunninghamii, Dacrycarpus compactus, and Podocarpus pilgeri (Farjon 2010).

Remarkable Specimens

Ethnobotany

No use is recorded, though it may be occasionally harvested along with other forest trees occurring in the montane forest. It has not yet found use as an ornamental (though it has attractive foliage) and is rare in botanical gardens.

Observations

Remarks

The epithet honors plant collector L. J. Brass, who made 6 collecting expeditions to New Guinea under the sponsorship of the American Museum of Natural History (Farjon 2010). Among other things, he made type collections of several podocarps, such as Dacrycarpus imbricatus and Podocarpus grayae.

Citations

Khan, R., Hill, R. S., Liu, J., and Biffin, E. 2023. Diversity, distribution, systematics and conservation status of Podocarpaceae. Plants 12(5):1171. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051171.

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.

Pilger. 1937. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 68:246.