Podocarpus polystachyus

Botanical Description

Podocarpus polystachyus is an evergreen tree that can range in height from a stunted shrub 2 - 3 metres tall to a canopy tree reaching 40 metres with a slender, buttressed bole 3 - 45cm in diameter that can be clear of branches to 25 metres[ 329 Title The Gymnosperm Database Publication Author Website http://www.conifers.org/index.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms. , 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood, which is traded collectively as 'podo' wood, along with several related species. It is often grown as an ornamental. This species, perhaps due to its very wide distribution, has formerly been assessed and found to be of Least Concern. However, its occurrence in precisely the habitat that is now rapidly being altered or destroyed over wide areas in Malesia, the lowland kerangas forest type, to make way for mainly oil palm plantations, poses a threat formerly insufficiently recognized. It is estimated that the decline will be at least 30% by 2020, with 1980 as an approximate starting point for the widespread conversion of its habitat (one generation is 40 years, the length of the period used for estimating the decline, before that time the species was assumed to have a fairly stable population although there was likely to have been some decline due to human activities in these coastal areas). It is very likely that this species may meet criteria for an even more threatened category than Vulnerable, but more information is required before it can be upgraded. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].