''Afrocarpus mannii'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

coniferous tree native to the Afromontane forests of

São Tomé Island São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts. It is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of the equ ...

in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

, growing at altitudes of 1,300 m up to the summit at 2,024 m. It was formerly classified as ''Podocarpus mannii''. It is a small tree, growing 10–15 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate, 6–8 cm long on mature trees, larger, to 15 cm long and 2 cm broad, on vigorous young trees. The

seed cones A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...

are highly modified, with a single 2 cm diameter seed with a thin fleshy coating borne on a short peduncle. The pollen cones are 1.5-2.5 cm long, solitary or in pairs on a short stem.

References

Gymnosperm Database: ''Afrocarpus mannii''
*Dallimore, W., & Jackson, A. B. (1966). ''A Handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae'', 4th ed., revised. Edward Arnold. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4690246 Podocarpaceae Endemic flora of São Tomé and Príncipe Vulnerable flora of Africa Flora of São Tomé Island