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''Nageia nagi'', the Asian bayberry, is plant species in the family Podocarpaceae named by
Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...
. ''Nageia nagi'' is native to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and Taiwan. It was formerly called '' Podocarpus nagi''.


Description

''Nageia nagi'' is a hardy tree species that can withstand a range of weather conditions, but it prefers moist sites that are well drained and with full sunlight to light shade. Being from the family Podocarpaceae, it is a
dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
tree, that is, the male and female parts of the trees are on separate plants. The pollen cones are
catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...
s and the female cones, which mature in one year, are reduced fleshy bracts that contain a single inverted ovule. It requires wind for pollination; it cannot self-pollinate. The trees range from fifteen to twenty meters in height and are relatively slow growing. The leaves are lanceolate in shape, and are arranged sub opposite on the branches. Leaves range from two to eight inches long and 0.75 to 2.5 inches wide and lack a mid-vein. The new leaves are a light green and as they age they become dark green and glossy. The branches also start out as green but as they age they become reddish brown and peel in small layers. ''Nageia nagi'' can be propagated by cuttings or by seed. It is best to plant the seed in a warm greenhouse and sandy soil. For their permanent position, they should be planted in late spring or early summer after the last frost. The species is threatened by habitat loss.


Uses

Houses, bridges, utensils, handiwork and furniture are constructed from the wood. The seeds yield an oil that is edible and valued in industry. Young leaves are sometimes cooked and eaten. Its bark exhibits strong antibacterial effect. Stems are used in floral arrangements that last in water for up to a year.


See also

*
Sacred Nagi Tree of Kumano Hayatama Taisha The Sacred Nagi Tree of Kumano Hayatama Taisha is one of the Natural Monuments of Japan and is situated in Kumano Hayatama Taisha in Shingu city, Wakayama, Japan. Kumano Hayatama Taisha is one of three Kumano Sanzan shrine/temple sites, and is pa ...


References

* Conifer Specialist Group 1998.
Nageia nagi

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 10 July 2007.


External links



Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi, India. Podocarpaceae Near threatened plants Trees of China Trees of Japan Trees of Taiwan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1784 {{conifer-stub