TAXACE^ 45 



ture, railway sleepers wlien creosoted, general joinery, boxes and 

 other purposes for which the best grades of pine are used in other 

 countries. Planks 20 ft. long are obtainable. 



In a critical study of the S. African Podocarps for the Flora 

 Capen-;is, Dr. Stapf examined a large number of specimens atKew, 

 with the result that several old and well-known names have had to 

 be changed. Thus the true P. falcatus described above is known 

 in S. Africa under the name of P. elongatus with the common 

 name of " Oteniqua Yellow Wood." The true P. elongatus is, 

 however, a distinct tree confined to Western S. Africa. The con- 

 fusion has been made worse by the name of P. falcatus having 

 been used by S . African foresters in connection with still another 

 species, P. HenkelU, Stapf. 



Podocarpus ferrugineus, D. Don (Stachycarpus). 

 Mmo. 



A tree 50-90 ft. high and 3-9 ft. in girth. Bark dark grey or 

 blackish, sometimes deeply furrowed, scaling in large flakes. 

 Leaves yew-like, irregularly arranged on each side of the shoot, 

 |-1| in. long on young plants, reduced to half the size on old 

 trees, about rV in. wide, pointed or blunt at the apex. Male 

 floirers solitary, -|-| in. long. Female flowers on different trees, 

 solitary, shortly stallced. Seed oval, |-| in. long and broad, 

 the outer covering bright red with a waxy, glaucous bloom, apex 

 with a short point. 



P . ferrugineus is widely distributed in the New Zealand forests, 

 particularly in the South Island. 



Wood strong, hard, compact, straight-grained and easily 

 worked. It is sometimes beautifully figured, especially when 

 radially cut. Although not recommended for use in contact 

 with the ground unless previously treated with a preservative, it 

 is excellent for all other parts of house-building and for general 

 carpentry. It is also used for marine piles and is said to resist 

 teredo well. Figured samples are useful for cabinet work. 



Kirk, loc. cit. 164 (1889) ; Cheeseman, Man. New Zeal. FL, 650 (1906). 



Podocarpus ferruginoides, R. H. Comptoni (Stachycarpus). 



A tree 30-50 ft. high, with an erect trunk and irregular branch 

 system. Leaves spirally arranged, usually erect, leathery, less 

 than I in. long, about ^ in, wide, blunt or shortly pointed at the 

 apex. Seed rounded or ovoid, J— |^ in. long, unpointed. 



Found in coniferous forest above 3,000 ft. elevation in Nekando, 

 New Caledonia. It differs from P. ferrugi7iea in the shorter and 

 relatively broader leaves and the nearly round, non -pointed seeds. 



^Journ. Linn. Soc. XLV, No. 304, 424 (1922). 



