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Dacrycarpus dacrydioides

Common name:	Kahikatea	Family:	Podocarpaceae
Author:	(A.Rich.)de Laub.	Botanical references:	44, 200
Synonyms:	Podocarpus dacrydioides (A.Rich.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Lowland forest, often dominant in swamp forests, North, South and Stewart Islands[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dacrydium excelsum[G] Nageia dacrydioides[G] Nageia excelsa[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Kahika [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Podocarpus family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 6m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Secondary, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit Gum.

Fruit - raw. A sweet taste[128, 153], it is palatable but with a slightly oily taste[173]. Also used as a masticatory[183] (this last report probably refers to the use of the resin).
A resin is obtained from the tree[153], it is used as a chewing gum[173].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Hedge Resin Wood.

Plants are fairly amenable to trimming and could possible be grown as a hedge in mild areas of the country[200].
Wood - yellowish, easily worked. Used for general carpentry and for paper pulp[1, 46, 64, 171].

Cultivation details

Requires sheltered moist woodland conditions[166].
Plants are not very frost-tolerant and are only hardy outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain[1, 81].
In their native habitat trees can reach 45 metres in height, but they are slow growing in Britain and rarely exceed 6 metres[11, 185].

Propagation

The seed can be very slow to germinate, often taking 18 months or more. It is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Give them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors.
Cuttings of short leading shoots, late summer in a frame[1]. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. It side shoots are used as cuttings they will form prostrate plants[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Podocarpaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[128] Laing. and Blackwell. Plants of New Zealand. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd 1907
An old flora of New Zealand in a readable style. Some details of plant uses.

[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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