TAXACE^ 47 



Podocarpus gracilior, Pilger (Stachycarpus). 



MUSENGERA. 



Podo. 



A tree up to CO or more ft. high, with a long, clear trunk crowned 

 with crowded branches. Leaves of young plants scattered, up 

 to 4 in. long and \ in. wide, on mature trees crowded and shorter, 

 usually f-2| in. long, \-], in. wide ; thick in texture, narrow, 

 tapering to a sharp point. Male flowers solitary or 2-3 together, 

 usually |--| in. long. Seeds solitary, unstalked, at the points of 

 short, leafy branchlets, |--f in. long and nearly as wide, purplish 

 in colour with a glaucous bloom. 



Native of Abyssinia, Uganda, and Kenya, ascending to 8,000 

 ft. altitude in the latter colony and common between 6,000-8,000 

 ft. in Uganda. 



Wood soft, yellowish, works well, is strong, moderately durable, 

 and is said to take nails better than some other species. It is 

 used for general building purposes, particularly for inside work, 

 such as flooring, doors, panelling, and furniture. The timber 

 is shipped from Mombassa to S. Africa and has a considerable 

 local use. The species is one of the most valuable on account of 

 its timber. For work in contact with the ground it should be 

 treated with a preservative, 



Stapf, Fl. Trop. Af. vi, sect. 2, pt. 2, 342 (1917). 



Podocarpus Harmsianus, Pilger (Stachycarpus). 



A tree with yew -like, unstalked leaves, somewhat resembling 

 those of P. montanus but spirally arranged, |-lj in. long, i\,-|- 

 in. wide, terminated by a spine-like point. Seed without a fleshy 

 receptacle. 



Native of W. Tropical South America. 



Podocarpus Henckelii, Stapf. (Eupodocarpus). 

 Falcate Yellow Wood. 



Podocarpus falcata, Hort. not R. Brown ; P. Thimborgii, var. falcata, 

 Sim. 



A South African tree allied to P. Thunbergii with pendent 

 branches. Leaves on old exposed trees irregularly arranged, 

 sickle-like, 1-2 in. long and \ in. wide, or, on vigorous specimens 

 sometimes opposite or sub -opposite, up to 5 or 6 in. long and 

 \ in. wide, narrowing gradually to the pointed apex and to the 

 base. Male flowers simple or branched, slender, about I in. long. 

 Seed globose, about 3 in. diameter, glaucous-green, seated on a 

 glaucous-green swollen receptacle. 



This species is found in Griqualand East and Natal, and is 

 known to foresters and lumber men as the " falcate yellow wood." 

 The timber can be used for similar purposes to that of P. latifolius. 



