Manoao | |
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Manoao foliage | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Podocarpaceae |
Genus: | Manoao |
Species: | M. colensoi |
Binomial name | |
Manoao colensoi (Hook.) Molloy |
Manoao is a monotypic genus in the family Podocarpaceae. The single species, M. colensoi, known as Manoao (Māori), silver pine, Westland pine, or white silver pine, is endemic to New Zealand. Before 1996 it was classified in genus Dacrydium or Lagarostrobos, but has recently been recognised as a distinct genus; some botanists still treat it in Lagarostrobos on the basis that it is not phylogenetically distinct from that genus. In molecular phylogenetic analyses Manoao was found to be related to Parasitaxus (a parasitic and monotypic genus from New Caledonia) and Lagarostrobos (a single species from Tasmania when narrowly defined), but their exact relationships are unresolved.
M. colensoi is a slow-growing evergreen tree up to 15 m (49 ft) in height, in shady, wet areas of New Zealand. It is a source of fine, straight and durable timber.