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Dacrydium cupressinum

Common name:	Rimu	Family:	Podocarpaceae
Author:	Sol. ex Lamb.	Botanical references:	11, 44, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Lowland and montane forests to 800 metres, on North, South and Stewart Islands[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	New Zealand Red Pine [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Podocarpus family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 30m 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) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. 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

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Drink Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 153, 183]. It can be somewhat constipating[173].
A resinous substance from the young branches has been used to make an alcoholic beverage resembling spruce beer[183]. The resin is bitter but edible[173]

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Lighting Tannin Wood.

The heartwood is extremely resinous and is used as a torch[128].
Tannin is obtained from the bark[46, 61].
Wood - beautifully marked. Much used for construction, railway sleepers, furniture etc[1, 11, 46, 61, 171].

Cultivation details

Requires a light, freely draining soil in a sheltered position with protection from cold winds[164]. Requires high rainfall and humidity if it is to succeed. It tolerates shade and probably requires it in drier areas if the tree is to survive. Requires warm humid summers and mild humid winters if it is to grow well, and even then it is very slow growing[200]. It is best grown in a woodland garden[166].
This species is only hardy in the very mildest areas of the country and does not really thrive even there[1, 11]. A tree on the Scilly Isles was 9 metres tall in 1970[185]. Seed from a more alpine provenance might be more successful[81].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a freely draining compost[164]. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 20° c[164]. Another report says that the seed can be very slow to germinate and that it is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[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.
Cuttings of short leading shoots in early autumn[1].

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]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[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.
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