Falcatifolium taxoides
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| ( Brongn. & Gris ) de Laub. |
Falcatifolium taxoides is a growing shrub or small tree conifer from the genus falcatifolium in the family of podocarpaceae (Podocarpaceae). The natural range of the species is on Grande Terre , the main island of New Caledonia . It is listed on the IUCN Red List as not endangered. The species is the sole host of Parasitaxus usta , the only parasitic conifer.
description
Appearance
Falcatifolium taxoides grows as an evergreen , 2 to 15 meter high shrub or small tree . The trunk of the trees reaches a maximum diameter of about 25 centimeters ( diameter at chest height ). The trunk bark is brown, gray when exposed to the weather, smooth, only rough on thick trunks and only flakes a little. The treetop is open and not very dense in specimens growing under the canopy in forests, and somewhat more dense in free-standing trees and bushes.
leaves
Two types of leaves can be distinguished: scale leaves and deciduous leaves. The scale leaves grow more or less pressed on the main shoots and the base of the side shoots. They are awl-shaped to narrowly lanceolate, 2 to 3 millimeters long and about 1 millimeter wide, and sometimes develop into small leaves. The first leaves on seedlings are almost linear, stalked, 12 to 20 millimeters long and about 1.5 millimeters wide and strongly keeled underneath. They are initially pink and white frosted and later light green on both sides. They will soon be replaced by the leaves of mature trees. These are curved sickle-shaped at the base, otherwise more or less straight or curved, ovoid and elongated, also on a branch very different in size, 0.8 to 2.5 centimeters long and 3 to 6 millimeters wide, more or less stalked and halfway slowly tapering towards the pointed or blunt point. The central rib is raised or indistinct on both sides. Numerous line-like, interrupted stomata opening strips are formed on both sides of the leaf, extending from the base to the tip.
Cones and seeds
The pollen cones often grow in twos or threes on axillary, sometimes terminal, scaly short shoots. They are 1.5 to 2.5 inches long with a diameter of 1.5 to 2 millimeters. The microsporophylls have two yellow pollen sacs and a pointed tip above.
The seed cones grow individually on axillary short shoots with pointed scale leaves. Ten to twelve scales with opposite, elongated cover scales are formed per cone. The podocarpium swells up to maturity to a length of 20 millimeters and a diameter of 8 millimeters, becomes succulent and turns bright red. Only one egg-shaped, obliquely growing near the tip, slightly flattened, 6 to 7 millimeters long and 3 to 4 millimeters wide seed with two ridges on the side ripens per cone . The seeds are initially reddish and turn dark brown when ripe.
Distribution and ecology
The natural range is in New Caledonia on Grande Terre . There the species often grows in the undergrowth of moist, montane forests from the hill country in the south of the island to the peaks of the highest mountains at altitudes of 400 to about 1400 meters or more. The distribution area is assigned to the hardiness zone 10 with mean annual minimum temperatures between −1.1 and +4.4 degrees Celsius (30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit ). The subsoil consists of ultramafic rocks of the serpentine group as well as acidic, metamorphic rocks ( mica schist ). They are found together with Araucaria montana , Araucaria laubenfelsii , Araucaria humboldtensis , on Mont Panié with Agathis montana and with deciduous trees such as representatives of the mahogany family (Meliaceae). The large, succulent, red seed cones are eaten by birds, which spread the seeds.
The species is the sole host of the only known parasitic conifer Parasitaxus usta . This grows as a small shrub or tree on the roots of Falcatifolium taxoides . How the parasite affects the growth and reproduction of Falcatifolium taxoides is unclear.
Hazard and protection
In the Red List of the IUCN is falcatifolium taxoides be deemed not at risk ( "Least Concern"). The species is widespread in Grande Terre and although some areas have been affected by mining and forest fires, there is no evidence of a decline in populations. Parts of the distribution area are protected, such as the area around the Montagne des Sources and the Mont Panié.
Systematics and Etymology
Falcatifolium taxoides is a species from the genus Falcatifolium , which is part of the Podocarpaceae family. It was in 1868 by Adolphe Brongniart , and Jean Antoine Arthur Gris in the Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France as Dacrydium taxoides ( Basionym ) first described and the dacrydium ( Dacrydium assigned). David John de Laubenfels placed it in 1969 in the Journal of the Arnold Arboretum in the newly established genus Falcatifolium . Further synonyms are Nageia taxoides (Brongn. & Gris) Kuntze , Pinus falciformis Parl. And Podocarpus taxodioides Carrière . The closest relative of Falcatifolium taxoides is the species Falcatifolium papuanum , which is native to New Guinea .
The genus name Falcatifolium is derived from the Latin falcis "sickle" and folia "leaf" and thus refers to the sickle-like curved leaves. The specific epithet taxoides refers to the similarity of the foliage with that of the yew tree ( Taxus ).
use
The wood of Falcatifolium taxoides is not used and no other uses of the species are known. It is also only cultivated in a few botanical gardens .
swell
literature
- Aljos Farjon: A Handbook of the World's Conifers . tape 1 . Brill, Leiden-Boston 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-17718-5 , pp. 363, 368, 369 .
- James E. Eckenwalder: Conifers of the World. The Complete Reference . Timber Press, Portland, OR / London 2009, ISBN 978-0-88192-974-4 , pp. 262, 263 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ James E. Eckenwalder: Conifers of the World , p. 262
- ↑ a b c Aljos Farjon: A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Volume 1, p. 368
- ^ Aljos Farjon: A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Volume 1, pp. 368-369
- ↑ a b c d e Aljos Farjon: A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Volume 1, p. 369
- ↑ a b Falcatifolium taxoides in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013. Posted by: P. Thomas, 2010. Retrieved on January 15, 2014.
- ↑ a b c James E. Eckenwalder: Conifers of the World , p. 263
- ^ Dacrydium taxoides. In: The International Plant Name Index. Retrieved January 17, 2014 .
- ↑ Falcatifolium taxoides. In: The International Plant Name Index. Retrieved January 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Falcatifolium taxoides. In: The Plant List. Retrieved January 15, 2013 .
- ^ Aljos Farjon: A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Volume 1, p. 363
Web links
- Christopher J. Earle: Falcatifolium taxoides. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, March 27, 2013, accessed January 15, 2014 (English).
- Falcatifolium taxoides at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed January 15, 2014.