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Podocarpus macrophyllus

Common name:	Kusamaki	Family:	Podocarpaceae
Author:	(Thunb.)Sweet.	Botanical references:	58, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Superficially similar to Taxus species, but this plant is definitely not poisonous[200].
Range:	E. Asia - S. China, Japan.
Habitat:	Mountains, C. and S. Japan[58]. Forests, open thickets and roadsides from near sea level to 1000 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Taxus macrophylla[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Yew Plum Pine [P], Yew Plum-pine [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	macrophyllus = large leaved; podocarpus = footed seed;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Podocarpus family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 10m by 5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen in October. 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 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked in pies, cakes etc[183]. The fruit is 12 - 15mm long[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Tonic.

The stem bark is used in the treatment of worms (especially ringworm) and blood disorders[218].
A decoction of the fruit is tonic for the heart, kidneys, lungs and stomach[218].

Other Uses

Hedge; Wood.

Plants are used for hedging in N. America[183]. The erect cultivar 'Maki' is commonly used[200].
The wood is used in making furniture, utensils, paper, and farm implements[266]..

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich moist non-alkaline soil[167].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[200].
This species is slow growing in Britain with annual increases in height of up to 20cm[185]. The trees tend to grow poorly in this country, they prefer areas with hot humid summers[200].
Tolerant of trimming[200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
This species is normally dioecious, though monoecious forms are sometimes found[227]. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

The seed can be sown at any time of the year in a sandy soil in a warm greenhouse, though it is probably best sown as soon as it is ripe[1]. 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 half-ripe terminal shoots, 5 - 10cm long, July/August in a frame[78].

Cultivars

'Maki': An erect-growing cultivar, it is commonly used for hedging in Southern N. America, China and Japan[183, 200]. One report says that it is of slow growth and not perfectly hardy in Britain[11].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[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]).

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[167] Holliday. I. and Hill. R. A Field Guide to Australian Trees. Frederick Muller Ltd. 1974 ISBN 0-85179-627-3
A well illustrated and very readable book, but it does not contain much information for the plant project.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

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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