Podocarpus lambertii (pinheiro bravo) description

Podocarpus lambertii

Klotzsch ex Endl. 1847

Common names

Pinheiro bravo, pinheirinho, pinheirinho-do-mato, pinho, pinho-brabo, pinho-bravo [Portuguese] (Farjon 2013).

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy (POWO, accessed 2023.02.03):

Nageia lambertii (Klotzsch ex Endl.) F. Muell. 1876;
Podocarpus lambertii var. horsmannii Silba 2000;
Podocarpus lambertii var. tigreensis Silba 2000;
Podocarpus lambertii subsp. horsmannii Silba 2010;
Podocarpus lambertii subsp. tigreensis Silba 2010.

Also see P. transiens, formerly placed into synonymy with P. lambertii. P. transiens is similar morphologically and has a geographically contiguous distribution; it may still warrant infraspecific status. Molecular studies would help to resolve the question.

The molecular analysis by Knopf et al. (2012), which used 2 different wild-collected samples of P. lambertii, placed P. lambertii with the subtropical Andean species P. parlatorei and P. sprucei in a "subtropical Americas" clade, sister to the "tropical Americas" clade that contains all other sampled species of Central and South America. This is a biogeographically plausible assessment. A more detailed analysis using 286 individuals sampled from throughout the species' range identified 25 discrete populations, with genetic distance between populations generally proportional to geographic distance. The analysis also found a disjunct "northern group" that occurs in an area of highly suitable habitat in central Bahia state (Bernardi et al. 2020).

Description

Tree to 12 m tall and 30 cm dbh, with a rounded or irregular crown of spreading branches. Bark not stated. Twigs slender, round. Foliage buds small, subglobose, with imbricate, broad-triangular, short-apiculate bud scales. Leaves on mature trees crowded near ends of branchlets, spreading at acute to right angles from the twig, sessile or short-petiolate, coriaceous or thin-coriaceous, reddish when flushing, later green or gray-green above, more pale below, linear-lanceolate, 20-40 × 2.5-4 mm (on saplings somewhat larger), straight or slightly falcate, margins slightly revolute, upper midrib forming a groove and sometimes fading toward apex, lower midrib raised and 0.4 mm wide, continuous to apex; apex acute or pungent. Pollen cones axillary in clusters of 2-8 or more, on peduncles to 15 mm long, 5-12 × 1.5-2 mm. Seed cones axillary, solitary on 5-10 mm peduncles, small receptacles ripening to 6-7 × 4-5 mm, succulent, reddish purple. Seed within the epimatium solitary, globose, 4-5 mm diameter, without a crest (Farjon 2010).

The small, slender leaves distinguish this species from other Podocarpus of southern Brazil.

Distribution and Ecology

Argentina: Misiones; Brazil: Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, at elevations of ca. 900-1800 m (but there are few data) (Farjon 2013). Habitat suitability modeling indicates that at least since the last glacial maximum, the area of most suitable habitat is centered in western Santa Catarina in the Atlantic Rainforest and Pampa biomes, roughly from 22.1 to 29.5°S and 44.7 to 54.5°W. There is also a relatively small and disjunct area of suitable habitat in the Caatinga biome in southern Bahia state, roughly from 11.5 to 13.3°S and 41.1 to 41.9°W (Bernardi et al. 2020). In the Pampa biome, P. lambertii is restricted to Araucaria forest and campo rupestre. Campo rupestre ("rocky grassland") includes rocky grasslands but also shrublands, wet areas, and streams with riparian vegetation, including forest; here P. lambertii is sometimes found with P. sellowii (Farjon 2010). The Atlantic Rainforest, a habitat that has been nearly eliminated by logging and conversion to agriculture (Graham 2010), persists only in fragments but is a highly productive habitat. P. lambertii is also a component of Araucaria angustifolia forest remnants, where it may achieve sufficient stature to enter the forest canopy; dendrochronological methods indicate that such trees are subject to lower levels of competition (Canetti et al. 2016). Based on data from 10 collection localities, P. lambertii grows at elevations of 890 ±410 m. Within its range, mean annual temperature is 17.4°C, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 8.4°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 1480 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5). Zone 10 (cold hardiness limit between -1°C and +4.4°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001). By the standards of its tropical habitats, it is an unusually cold-tolerant species that seems to have thrived within much the same distribution area during the last glacial maximum (Bernardi et al. 2020).

Ecologically, the seedlings have low shade tolerance but the mature plants have relatively good shade tolerance; it is an early-successional but long-lived species, commonly establishing in the campo rupestre but persisting as forest develops on the site. While in the forest understory, P. lambertii generally occurs in association with Araucaria angustifolia, sometimes in small, high-density groups. A dioecious species, it is pollinated by both wind and bees. The seeds are dispersed by gravity and by birds that feed on the receptacles (Bernardi et al. 2020 and citations therein). An ecophysiological study comparing trees on relatively cool/wet and warm/dry sites found that trees on warmer/drier sites have fewer stomata and smaller tracheids, providing a measure of phenotypic plasticity in the species (Locosselli and Ceccantini 2012).

The IUCN has assessed this species as "Near Threatened". Although it has a large range, most of it is in habitats subject to human disturbance. A fairly rapid rate of decline and habitat fragmentation are suspected. The species is nowhere abundant and in most of its range is uncommon, so its decline is due to habitat loss, mainly through conversion of lands for agriculture; timber harvest, if it occurs, is incidental. The species is found in some protected areas, notably the Parque Estadual do Podocarpus in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, created for protection of this species (Farjon 2013). However, of the 25 discrete populations identified through genetic analysis, only a small minority are in protected areas, and most are only found in small and highly fragmented forest remnants (Bernardi et al. 2020).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.23.

Ethnobotany

No commercial uses have been recorded for this small tree (Farjon 2010), but Podocarpus is generally used by local people for uses such as tools, fenceposts, and sometimes firewood. However, leaf extracts from P. lambertii have been found to contain compounds that show significant antioxidant, antibiofilm, and antimicrobial activity, thus the plant may have pharmacological potential (Bandeira et al. 2022).

Observations

The Parque Estadual do Podocarpus in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul was created for protection of this species (Farjon 2013), and it also seems to be fairly common in the Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de Paula (FLONA-SFP), also in Rio Grande do Sul. It can also be found growing with Podocarpus sellowii and Araucaria angustifolia in Campos do Jordão State Park in São Paulo State (22.7333°S, 43.7333°W) at elevations of ca. 1800 meters (Sousa et al. 2004).

Remarks

The epithet honors Aylmer Bourke Lambert (1761-1842), British botanist, most often remembered today for his wonderfully illustrated folio A Description of the Genus Pinus (several editions 1803-1832, 1803 is linked), but he published the first descriptions of at least 25 conifer species. He is also recalled in Pinus lambertiana.

Citations

Bandeira, Debora M., Juliana M. Correa, Larissa V. Laskoski, Joelma M. Batista, Jéssica Rosset, Willian F. da Costa, Lilian H. Kuo, and Fabiana GS Pinto. 2022. Extraction, characterization of bioactive compounds and biological activities of the leaves of Podocarpus lambertii Klotzch ex Endl. Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 31:100427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2022.100427.

Bernardi, Alison Paulo, Miguel Busarello Lauterjung, Adelar Mantovani, and Maurício Sedrez dos Reis. 2020. Phylogeography and species distribution modeling reveal a historic disjunction for the conifer Podocarpus lambertii. Tree Genetics & Genomes 16(3):40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-020-01434-2.

Canetti, Aline, Patrícia Póvoa de Mattos, Evaldo Munoz Braz, Pollyni Ricken, and Sylvio Pellico Netto. 2016. Retrospective analysis of competition in a forest remnant: A case study of Podocarpus lambertii in the Araucaria forest. Dendrochronologia 40:43-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2016.05.003.

Ceccantini, Gregório, Universidade da São Paulo, Instituto de Biociencias, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail, 2007.08.02.

Endlicher, Stephano. 1847. Synopsis Coniferarum, p. 211. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.01.07.

Farjon, A. 2013. Podocarpus lambertii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T34086A2844519. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34086A2844519.en, accessed 2023.02.03.

Graham, Alan. 2010. Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic history of Latin American vegetation and terrestrial environments, Chapter 3. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.02.03.

Locosselli, Giuliano Maselli, and Gregório Ceccantini. 2012. Plasticity of stomatal distribution pattern and stem tracheid dimensions in Podocarpus lambertii: an ecological study. Annals of Botany 110(5):1057-1066.

Sousa, V.A., I.P. Robinson and H.H. Hattemer. 2004. Variation and population structure at enzyme gene loci in Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Ktze. Silvae Genetica 53(1):12-19.