common yellowwood

Description

Afrocarpus falcatus (syn. Podocarpus falcatus) is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the montane forests of southern Africa, where it is distributed in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. Common names include common yellowwood, bastard yellowwood, outeniqua yellowwood, African fern pine, weeping yew. It is widespread, in some areas abundant, and not considered threatened, but it is a protected tree in South Africa. It is grown as an ornamental tree, especially in South Africa, and occasionally abroad. This is an evergreen conifer often growing up to about 45 meters tall, but known to reach 60 m. At higher elevations and in exposed, coastal habitat it rarely exceeds 25 m tall. The trunk can be 2 to 3 m wide and is gray-brown to reddish. It is smooth and ridged on young stems, but increasingly flaky on older trunks. The leaves are arranged in spirals on the branches. They are small and narrow, up to 4.5 cm long by about 6 mm wide. They are green to yellowish, hairless, and leathery and somewhat waxy in texture. It is a dioecious species, with male and female structures on separate plants.