Podocarpus elatus.
Family Podocarpaceae.
The Plum pine, endemic to eastern Queensland, is sometimes seen in public places.
They are evergreen trees up to 35 m tall.
The brown bark becomes fissured and scaly.
The oblong leaves, spirally arranged, are up to 14 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
In some areas the twisted petioles can make them appear to be in 2 ranks.
The midvein is visible but no lateral veins.
Juvenile leaves are a dull red with yellow-green edges.
Adult leaves are a dark green above and pale green underneath.
The male cones are 2 – 3 cm long and narrowly cylindrical.
On short or no stalks they are in axillary clusters.
The solitary female fruit are also axillary but on stalks.
They only have a few scales that fuse with the swollen, fleshy stem.
This receptacle is dark bluish-purple and about 2 cm across.
It contains a single, round, 1 cm seed.
J.F.
