Scientific name: Nageia nagi (Thunberg) O.Kuntze 1891

Synonyms: Agathis veitchii (Henkel & W.Hochst.) Seward & Ford, Dammara veitchii Henkel & W.Hochst., Decussocarpus nagi (Thunb.) de Laub., Nageia caesia (Maxim.) Kuntze, Nageia cuspidata (Endl.) Gordon, Nageia grandifolia (Endl.) Gordon, Nageia japonica Gaertn., Nageia ovata Gordon, Podocarpus caesius Maxim., Podocarpus cuspidatus Endl., Podocarpus grandifolius Endl., Podocarpus japonicus J.Nelson, Podocarpus nageia R.Br. ex Endl., Podocarpus nagi (Thunb.) Pilg., Podocarpus nagi (Thunb.) Makino, Podocarpus nagi (Thunb.) Zoll. & Mor. ex Zoll., Podocarpus ovata (Gordon) Henkel & W.Hochst., Podocarpus ovatus (Gordon) Henkel & W. Hochst.

Common names: Asian bayberry, Naki, Nagi (Japanese and English), Common nagi, Zhu bai (Chinese)

Description

Tree or tall shrub to 20(-25) m tall, sometimes multitrunked but usually with a single main trunk to 0.5-(-1) m in diameter. Bark thin, smooth, purplish red or reddish brown, weathering to gray and flaking to produce a mottled appearance. Crown dense, narrow, conical to cylindrical, with numerous short, slender, rising branches densely clothed with foliage. Leaves well spread out along the twigs, shiny bright or dark green to grayish green above, paler beneath, with lines of stomates only on the lower side, (2-)4-8(-9) cm long, (0.7)1.5-2.5(-3) cm wide. Blade widest near or a little below the middle, tapering rather quickly to the briefly and broadly prolonged triangular tip and to the roundly wedge-shaped base on a short petiole 3-8 mm long. Pollen cones single or in clusters of 2-6(-10) on a short stalk to 10 mm long. Each cone (0.5-)1-2(-2.5) cm long by about 4 mm in diameter. Seed cones one (or two) on a stalk 0.5-1.5 cm long, without a fleshy podocarpium. Combined seed coat and epimatium blue-black at maturity but sometimes appearing bluish gray because of a heavy waxy coating, usually spherical but sometimes pear-shaped, 10-14(-16) mm in diameter.

Southern Japan from Wakayama prefecture in southern Honshu southward, Taiwan, and southeastern China, from Zhejiang west to southeastern Sichuan and south to Hainan. Scattered among hardwoods in primary and secondary warm temperate to subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forests on hillsides and in valleys; 0-1,200(-1,600) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened

This species could remain forever Data Deficient if we insisted on knowing even by estimate its population size in numbers of mature trees, or its exact extent of occurrence and area of occupancy. From reports like that by Wilson (1916) now nearly 100 years ago, it is evident that trees in natural habitat are rare. Its occurrence in lower altitude forests is likely to make it sensitive to deforestation. It should therefore be listed at least as Near Threatened as it could well qualify for listing as Vulnerable under criterion A2c if we assumed its reduction was more than 30% over the last 75 years (three generations). It is impossible to say with any certainty that the reduction has exceeded 30%, but a reduction of 20-29% is very plausible given historical knowledge on its occurrence. Nageia nagi occurs in mixed mesophytic evergreen forest and mixed mesophytic deciduous forest (Wang 1961). It occurs in hills and low mountains from about (0-)200 m to 1,200(-1,600) m a.s.l. In evergreen oak forest it is one of several shade tolerant conifers that may occur under canopy or take advantage of small gaps to break through: Taxus chinensis, Cephalotaxus fortunei, Keteleeria fortunei, and Fokienia hodginsii are the most common of these. Besides Castanopsis spp. and Quercus spp. (the oaks), numerous angiosperm trees occur in these forests or forest remnants. In Taiwan and southern Japan the coniferous element of this vegetation is more dominant, with Pseudotsuga sinensis or Pseudotsuga japonica and Tsuga sieboldii often added to the mixture. In forest or woodland on drier mountain slopes Nageia nagi tends to follow streams, but it is known to regenerate in more open thickets after forest disturbance. This species is widely distributed, but it is almost impossible to establish from herbarium collection data where it is truly indigenous (growing in the wild) and where it has been introduced and planted. Wilson (1916) noted that he did not meet with any trees growing in the wild whilst travelling in Japan. In the wild, it is limited to a few forest remnants in the most southern parts of that country, including the oceanic Ryukyu Islands. In Taiwan, S.Y. Lu (1996) has assessed the species as Critically Endangered (CR), with wild growing trees restricted to Taipei Co. in the north and Taitung Co. in the far south of the island. Similar inventories based on intimate knowledge of the forest flora are lacking for most of mainland China. Occurring in lowland mixed evergreen forest, the species has come under threat from habitat declines. Whole plants are also dug up for the horticultural trade. Nageia nagi is a valuable timber tree, but its most common use is as an amenity tree in China and Japan, where it is found in many of the climatically milder parts of these countries planted in gardens, parks, sanctuaries, and even as street trees. It is also popular as a tree for bonsai cultivation. It is much less commonly planted in Europe, the USA and New Zealand, where it is almost restricted to botanical collections. This widespread species is recorded in Kenting and Yangmingshan National Parks in Taiwan and is likely to occur within other protected areas. An effort should be made to establish where in China and Japan subpopulations in the wild still exist and what their condition and status is. From this we may then be able to extrapolate to other areas from where it is known to have been collected or seen growing in natural habitat.

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland