Illawarra plum
| Podocarpus elatus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| drawing by Margaret Flockton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Podocarpaceae |
| Genus: | Podocarpus |
| Species: | P. elatus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Podocarpus elatus R.Br. |
|
Podocarpus elatus, known as the plum pine, the brown pine or the Illawarra plum is a species of Podocarpus endemic to the east coast of Australia, in eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland.
It is a medium to large evergreen tree growing to 30–36 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The leaves are lanceolate, 5–15 cm long (to 25 cm long on vigorous young trees) and 6–18 mm broad. The seed cones are dark blue-purple, berry-like, with a fleshy base 2-2.5 cm diameter bearing a single oval or globose seed 1 cm in diameter.
The fleshy part of the seed cone is edible, used in condiments. The timber was prized for furniture, joinery, boat planking, lining and piles in salt water. Podocarpus elatus is an attractive ornamental tree. In older Australian suburbs it can be seen lining the street, such as at Baldry Street, Chatswood.
juvenile foliage
Podocarpus elatus trunk
Podocarpus elatus foliage & naked seeds on fleshy receptacles
Podocarpus elatus growing in littoral rainforest on sand
Podocarpus elatus bark & foliage
Podocarpus elatus bark
Podocarpus elatus unusually joined seed stems (receptacles)
Podocarpus elatus germinating
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Wikipedia