''Podocarpus nubigenus'' (also known as ''P. nubigena'') is a species of

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

Valdivian temperate rain forests The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainforest ...

of southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and adjacent southwestern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is the southernmost

in the world. It grows from 38°S to Ultima Esperanza (53°S), in wet and swampy soils. It can settle clear grounds, with a faster growth than the other Chilean

Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...

. It is a medium to large

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, growing to around , exceptionally to . The bark peels off in papery flakes, with a purplish to golden brown hue. The sharp, green, needle-like leaves are stiff and leathery, 2 cm long. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are highly modified with two to four fused, fleshy, berry-like, juicy scales, bright red when mature, bearing one (rarely two) rounded

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s at the apex of the scales. In a classic example species-pair of the

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Presently, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, includin ...

, it is very closely related to ''

Podocarpus totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

'' from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, to the extent that if planted together, they are very difficult to distinguish. The best distinction is the slightly brighter green tone of the leaves, compared to the more greyish-green of ''P. totara''.

Cultivation and uses

The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

is hard and straight grained, and very resistant to rot; it is yellow with reddish marks, semiheavy, semihard, and resistant to decay, but due to scarcity, is little used. ''P. nubigenus'' is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in the western

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

of North America, where it receives the cool summers and high rainfall it requires for successful growth. This tree is tolerant to about . It does not have any common English name; cloud podocarp' (a translation of the scientific name); ''male maniu'' (a literal translation from the most common name in Chile), Chilean podocarp, and Chilean totara have been suggested, but are little used.

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

Native American and Latin American Spanish names include and ''mañio macho'' or ''mañíu macho'' and ''huililahuán'' (). In southern Chile, it is also known as ''mañío de hojas punzantes'' (which is translated as prickly-leaved maniu).

Etymology

''Podocarpus'' is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and means 'stalked fruit'. The name is in reference to the distinctive shape of the fruit stalks of some species.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 275, 308 ''Nubigenus'' means 'cloud-born' or 'cloud-formed'.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q823016 nubigenus Trees of Argentina Trees of Chile Trees of mild maritime climate Trees of subpolar oceanic climate Ornamental trees Near threatened plants

Cultivation and uses

Etymology

References

Further reading

External links