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Synonyms: Acmopylaceae Bobrov & Melikyan; Phyllocladaceae Bessey
Common name: Podocarpus Family.
Number of genera 18 (Page). Number of species 126 (Page, 1990).
Gymnosperm.
Disseminule a cone, or a seed.
Cones
Cone fleshy, or dry (Saxegothaea); when dry simple (Saxegothaea); with scales (Saxegothaea); an epispermatium when fleshy (Spjut Fig. 28C-D & only family), or anarillocarpium when fleshy (Micostrobus not Spjut). Fruiting scales present; fleshy.
Seeds
Aril seed seated in enlarged fleshy receptacle absent, or present (Microstrobus); a true aril, or an arillike structure; white; well developed; adnate to testa; fleshy, or dry; basal, or encompassing; does not aid in seed explusion from fruit; fragile; cupshaped; unlobed. Arillike structure falling with seed an epimatium. Seed larger than minute; 5 to less than 10 mm long to 10 to less than 25 mm long; 10–22 mm long; circular (sub), or oblong, or ovate; in transection terete (more or less); not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without markedly different marginal tissue; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; tight; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface reticulate, or wrinkled; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; black, or red (dish), or yellow, or green; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.5–0.6 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate, or conical; with spatulate cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length, or oblique to seed length; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; as wide as hypocotyl-radicle, or somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; not concealing hypocotyl-radicle; not foliaceous; thin; flat; smooth; with apices entire; with margins separate; basally entire; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle small; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Southern Hemisphere & extending to Japan, Central America, & West Indies. New World, Old World. Middle America, South America, Africa, Asia Major, southeastern Asia, Australia, Oceania.
Notes
Mabberley & Page in Kramer & Green: Seed seated on or surrounded by aril-like receptacle, but Microstrobus is without swollen receptaclar appendage (rarely arillike structure wanting). This genus does not meet the definition in Spjut. According to Page Phyllocladus has a true "aril eventually surrounding the case of the seed". Phyllocladus aril is cupular, fragile, white. General: Podocarpaceae has fleshy or dry aril (epimatium) and seated on on an enlarged fleshy receptacle. Sagegothaea has "cones" with several imbricated bracts.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Acmopyle Pilg. -- Afrocarpus (J. Buchholz & N. E. Gray) C. N. Page -- Dacrycarpus (Endl.) de Laub. -- Dacrydium Sol. ex G. Forst. -- Falcatifolium de Laub. -- Halocarpus Quinn -- Lagarostrobos Quinn -- Lepidothamnus Phil. -- Microcachrys Hook. f. -- Microstrobos J. Garden & L. A. S. Johnson -- Nageia Gaertn. -- Parasitaxus de Laub. -- Phyllocladus Rich. & Mirb., nom. cons. -- Podocarpus L'Hér. ex Pers., nom. cons. -- Prumnopitys Phil. -- Retrophyllum C. N. Page -- Saxegothaea Lindl., nom. cons. prop.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 0 (not present).
General references
Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, Page, C.N. 1990. Coniferophytina (Conifers and Ginkgoids). In: Kubitzki, K., ed., The families and genera of vascular plants, pp. 282–361. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Acceptable epispermatium & seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): "cone", or fruit, or seed, or embryo. Illustrated "cone": epispermatium. "Cone" illustration(s): Spjut, LeMaout & Decaisne, Engler & Prantl, Page in Kramer & Green. Seed illustration(s): Karen. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 407: Phyllocladus (rhomboidalis) aspleniifolius (Labill.) Hook. f. (A-B) & from plate 409: Dacrycarpus compactus (Wasscher) de Laub. (A-B), Dacrydium elatum Wall. (C-D), Microcachrys teragona (Hook.) Hook. f. (E-F), Podocarpus blumei Endl. (G-H), Saxegothaea conspicua Lindl. (I-J).
• Cone. 1 of 10. Phyllocladus toatoa Molloy: cone. • Seed. 2 of 10. Phyllocladus toatoa Molloy: seeds. • Cone. 3 of 10. Prumnopitys ferruginea (D. Don) de Laub.: cone. • Seed. 4 of 10. Prumnopitys ferruginea (D. Don) de Laub.: seed. • Embryo. 5 of 10. Dacrycarpus compactus (Wasscher) de Laub.: embryo. • Embryo. 6 of 10. Dacrydium elatum (Roxb.) Wall. ex Hook.: embryo. • Embryo. 7 of 10. Microcachrys tetragona (Hook.) Hook. f.: embryo. • Embryo. 8 of 10. Phyllocladus toatoa Molloy: embryo. • Embryo. 9 of 10. Nageia wallichiana (C. Presl) Kuntze: embryo. • Embryo. 10 of 10. Saxegothaea conspicua Lindl.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
