Podocarpus pseudobracteatus

de Laubenfels 1980

Common names

Kaip [Wabag, Enga]; kebu [Tari Gap]; puling [Togoba, Chimbu] (de Laubenfels 1988).

Taxonomic notes

Type: Papua New Guinea, Southern Highlands, Tari Subdistrict, Mount Ambua, 1966, C. Kalman 5189 (holo L; iso A, LAE, S). Syn: P. archboldii var. crassiramosus N.E. Gray 1958 (de Laubenfels 1988, but de Laubenfels [2015] does not cite any synonyms). There are two varieties, Podocarpus pseudobracteatus var. pseudobracteatus and Podocarpus pseudobracteatus var. sicaris de Laub. (2015).

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

Description

Tree to 15 m tall and 20 cm dbh. Crown, bark and twigs not described. Foliage buds 5-14 mm long. Leaves on mature trees on a 2-5 mm petiole, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate or elliptic, 60-150 × 7-12 mm (leaves on understory plants up to 220 × 17 mm), narrowly acute, tapering more or less abruptly at the base. Upper (adaxial) midrib a prominent narrow ridge with nearly vertical sides, 0.4-0.5 mm wide and 0.3-0.4 mm high. Pollen cones 40-45 × 2.5-3 mm, on a short peduncle up to 2 mm long, solitary; apex of the microsporophyll 0.5-0.7 mm long. Seed cones on a 2-5 mm peduncle; 2 foliola 2.5-3 mm long, often thick and lanceolate; receptacle 7-11 mm long, formed of two bracts and becoming first orange, then red, then almost black when ripe. Seed within the epimatium 10-11 × 8-9 mm, blunt (de Laubenfels 1988).

The description of the species given by de Laubenfels (1988) is inconsistent in nearly all particulars with the descriptions of the varieties given by de Laubenfels (2015), and he describes some characters for one variety but not the other, so it is difficult to say what he intends to be the diagnostic characters. However, he does say that the type variety is commonly found in peat swamps and has leaves 70-110 × 8-11 mm, while var. sicaris is in mossy forests and has leaves 130-200 × 11-16 mm, as well has having bud scales 7-12 mm long (bud scales on the type variety are not described, but are presumably shorter).

Distribution and Ecology

Indonesia: Papua Barat; Papua New Guinea: Central Papua, Eastern Highlands, Morobe, Southern Highlands, Western Highlands (de Laubenfels 2015). "Scattered and locally common in the understory of mossy Castanopsis-Nothofagus forest and Dacrydium swamp forest, sometimes entering the alpine shrubbery, from 1740 to 2850 m" (de Laubenfels 1988).

The type variety occurs at 1740-1850 m elevation in highlands through most of Papua New Guinea. Var. sicaris occurs at 300-2200 m elevation in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea: Central Papua, Eastern Highlands, and Morobe.

The IUCN assigns this species a conservation status of "Least Concern" mainly due to its widespread distribution, predominately in high-elevation areas that are at low risk from logging (Farjon 2013). This may be an optimistic assessment, as logging activity is increasing in mountainous portions of New Guinea, with substantial increases forecast (Gaveau and Sheil 2021).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.23.

Ethnobotany

No recorded uses as of 2023.01.23, but as with other tree-sized Podocarpus in New Guinea, it likely sees some level of use for its timber.

Observations

See the collection locales referred to by de Laubenfels (2015).

Remarks

The epithet means "false bracteatus"; the species resembles Podocarpus bracteatus.

Citations

Farjon, A. 2013. Podocarpus pseudobracteatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T42526A2985243. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42526A2985243.en, accessed on 2023.01.23.

Gaveau, David and Douglas Sheil. 2021.10.21. Road to uncertainty: Research reveals how Trans Papua may strip 4.5 million hectares of forest by 2036. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-road-uncertainty-reveals-trans-papua.html, accessed 2023.01.23.

Laubenfels, David J. de. 1980. Blumea 26:142.

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.

See also

Plants of the World online; includes a scan of the type specimen.