PODOCARPACEAE

family of between 6 and 18 genera in the conifer division (Coniferophyta), containing more than 125 species of ornamental and timber evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. The seven genera commonly admitted are Pherosphaera, Microcachrys, Saxegothaea, Dacrydium, Acmopyle, Podocarpus, and Phyllocladus. All occur in the Australasian region except Saxegothaea. The Podocarpaceae are usually dioecious (having separate male and female plants) and have leaves variously awl-shaped, needlelike, or broad, with many parallel veins. In the genus Phyllocladus, the foliar leaves are replaced by flattened branchlets (phylloclades) resembling leaves. The staminate, or pollen-bearing, cones are borne in a terminal or axillary position on leafy twigs; the ovulate, or seed-bearing, cones at maturity become fleshy and sometimes brightly coloured and surmount the fleshy cone axis. The largest genus, Podocarpus, contains more than 100 species, commonly called yellowwood, found throughout Australasia, Africa, and South America. Dacrydium has about 20 species of Australasian trees and shrubs, including the Huon pine, or Macquarie pine (D. franklinii), and the rimu, or New Zealand red pine. The celery-top pine is the best known of the six species of Australasian trees and shrubs in the genus Phyllocladus. The Prince Albert yew, a timber tree native to South America, is the only species in the genus Saxegothaea.