Afrocarpus falcatus

Afrocarpus falcatus
The Big Tree, Wilderness Nature Reserve
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Podocarpaceae
Genus:	Afrocarpus
Species:	A. falcatus
Binomial name
Afrocarpus falcatus (Thunb.)
Synonyms
Podocarpus falcatus, Sickle-leaved Yellowwood, Outeniqua Yellowwood

Afrocarpus falcatus, commonly known as the Sickle-leaved Yellowwood and False Yellowwood (formerly also Outeniqua Yellowwood; syn. Podocarpus falcatus), is a species of Afrocarpus, native to montane forests of South Africa, from Swellendam District of Western Cape Province to Limpopo Province, and into southern Mozambique.

When grown domestically, it is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching heights of 10-25 m, but can sometimes attain heights of up to 60 m - and live for hundreds of years - in its natural habitat. Mature trees have a rougher, scaly bark than that of younger trees. The leaves are spirally arranged, lanceolate or falcate (sickle-shaped) with a very sharp point, 2-4 cm long and 2-4 mm broad. Pollen cones and seed cones are found on trees of different gender. The seed cones are highly modified, with a single large seed with a thin fleshy coating borne on a short peduncle. The fruit takes a year to mature, turning yellow, and is dispersed by birds and monkeys which eat the fleshy coating, a necessary step for growth since the flesh contains a germination inhibitor. The pollen cones are produced in clusters on short stems.

Pictures

A medium-sized Outeniqua Yellowwood in Cape Town

The Big Tree - a large specimen in Wilderness nature reserve

Outeniqua Yellowwood growing on the slopes of Table Mountain

References and external links

• Conifer Specialist Group (2000). Afrocarpus falcatus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 26 November 2006.
• Gymnosperm Database: Afrocarpus falcatus
• English Names of South African Trees
• Arboretum de Villardebelle: Afrocarpus falcatus photographs
• South African National Biodiversity Institute Podocarpus falcatus
• "Podocarpus falcatus". Plantz Afrika. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/podocarpfalcat.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-04. 
• PROTA4U, a new interactive webdatabase on plants used by people in tropical Africa.

Media related to Afrocarpus falcatus at Wikimedia Commons