''Phyllocladus'', the celery pines, is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

conifers Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...

, now usually treated in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 Pre ...

.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Timber Press: Portland, OR, USA. .'' ''Species occur mainly in

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 ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

in the Southern Hemisphere, though '' P. hypophyllus ''ranges into the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, a short way north of the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

Characteristics

They are small to medium-sized

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 ...

s, reaching 10–30 m tall, or sometimes small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s. The main structural shoots are green for 2–3 years, then turn brown as the bark thickens. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are sparse, tiny, scale-like, 2–3 mm long, and only green (

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

) for a short time, soon turning brown. Most photosynthesis is performed by highly modified, leaf-like short shoots called

phylloclade Phylloclades and cladodes are flattened, photosynthetic shoots, which are usually considered to be modified branches. The two terms are used either differently or interchangeably by different authors. '' Phyllocladus'', a genus of conifer, is nam ...

s; these develop in the axils of the scale leaves, and are simple or compound (depending on species). Simple phylloclades are rhombic, 2–5 cm long, and compound phylloclades are up to 20 cm long and subdivided into five to 15 leaflet-like phylloclades 1–3 cm long. The seed

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 berry-like, similar to those of several other Podocarpaceae genera, notably ''

Halocarpus ''Halocarpus'' is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae.Christopher N. Page. 1990. "Podocarpaceae" pages 332-346. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) ''The Families and Genera of Vascu ...

'' and ''

Prumnopitys ''Prumnopitys'' is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. The nine recognized species of ''Prumnopitys'' are densely branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height. Etymology The name ''Prumnopitys'' comes ...

'', with a fleshy white

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

; the seeds are dispersed by

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, which digest the soft, fleshy aril as they pass the hard seeds in their droppings. Tanekaha Kahuroa.jpg, Phylloclades of '' P. trichomanoides'' Celery Top Pine.jpg, A seedling of '' P. aspleniifolius'' with needle-like juvenile leaves Phyllocladus alpinus Governors Bush Walk Mount Cook 1.JPG, Pollen cones of ''P. alpinus'' Phyllocladus aspleniifolius (Celery-top pine) cones (8711563882).jpg, Seed cones of ''P. aspleniifolius''

Taxonomy

''Phyllocladus'' is sufficiently morphologically distinct from the other Podocarpaceae genera that some botanists have treated them separately in their own family, Phyllocladaceae.Christopher N. Page. 1990. "Phyllocladaceae" pages 317-319. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume I. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. However, while at least one molecular phylogenetic analysis found ''Phyllocladus'' to be

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to ''Podocarpus'' ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' William T. Sinclair, R. R. Mill, M. F. Gardner, P. Woltz, T. Jaffré, J. Preston, M. L. Hollingsworth, A. Ponge, and M. Möller. 2002. "Evolutionary relationships of the New Caledonian heterotrophic conifer, ''Parasitaxis usta'' (Podocarpaceae), inferred from chloroplast trnL-F intron/spacer and nuclear rDNA ITS2 sequences". ''Plant Systematics and Evolution'' 233(1-2):79-104. and another was equivocal on its

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

relative to Podocarpaceae s.s.,Steven J. Wagstaff. 2004. "Evolution and biogeography of the austral genus ''Phyllocladus'' (Podocarpaceae)". ''Journal of Biogeography'' 31(10):1569-1577. two more recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have placed ''Phyllocladus'' within Podocarpaceae as a sister taxon to ''

Lepidothamnus ''Lepidothamnus'' is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes three species of dioecious or monoecious evergreen trees and shrubs, and creepers. '' L. intermedius'' and '' L. laxifolius'' are nativ ...

''.Ed Biffin, Timothy J. Brodribb, Robert S. Hill, Philip Thomas and Andrew J. Lowe. 2012. "Leaf evolution in Southern Hemisphere conifers tracks the angiosperm ecological radiation". ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ''279:341-348. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0559.Patrick Knopf, Christian Schulz, Damon P. Little, Thomas Stutzel and Dennis W. Stevenson. 2012. "Relationships within Podocarpaceae based on DNA sequence, anatomical, morphological, and biogeographical data". ''Cladistics'' 28: 271–299. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00381.x Morphological analysis supports this placement, and therefore it has been suggested that the distinctive

s in the genus are a

synapomorphy In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

. The five species are

genetically Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working i ...

distinct, and probably arose between 5 and 7 million years ago.

Species

* ''

Phyllocladus alpinus ''Phyllocladus alpinus'', the mountain toatoa or mountain celery pine, is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Zealand. The form of this plant ranges from a shrub to a small tree of up to seven metres in heig ...

'' (''P. trichomanoides'' var. ''alpinus'') - mountain toatoa (

) * ''

Phyllocladus aspleniifolius ''Phyllocladus aspleniifolius'', commonly known as the celerytop pine, is an endemic gymnosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is widespread and common in Tasmania, with the most abundance in the western highlands. Its ‘leaves’ appear similar ...

'' - celery-top pine (

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) * ''

Phyllocladus hypophyllus ''Phyllocladus hypophyllus'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu G ...

'' - Malesian celery-pine (

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and

) * '' Phyllocladus toatoa'' - toatoa (

) * ''

Phyllocladus trichomanoides ''Phyllocladus trichomanoides'', the tānekaha or celery pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. Description Tānekaha is a medium-sized forest tree growing up to 25 m in height and 1 m trunk diameter. The main structural shoots ar ...

'' - tanekaha (

)

References

Sources

*Quinn, C. J. & Price, R. A. 2003. Phylogeny of the Southern Hemisphere Conifers. ''Proc. Fourth International Conifer Conference'': 129-136.

External links

Gymnosperm Database
- ''Phyllocladus'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q134249 Podocarpaceae Trees of New Zealand Podocarpaceae genera