Austrotaxus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Cupressales
Family: Taxaceae
Genus: Austrotaxus
Compton
Species:
A. spicata
Binomial name
Austrotaxus spicata
Compton

Austrotaxus spicata, the New Caledonia yew or southern yew, is a species of yew, the sole species in the genus Austrotaxus.[2] It is related to the other yews in the genera Taxus and Pseudotaxus.[3]

It is endemic to New Caledonia, occurring in the central and northern parts of the island at 300-1,350 m altitude.

It is a dioecious[4] coniferous shrub or small tree, reaching 5–20 m (rarely 25 m) tall with reddish bark. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, 8–12 cm long (up to 17 cm on young plants) and 4 mm broad, dark green above, with two paler green stomatal bands below; they are arranged spirally on the stem.

The seed cones are drupe-like, 20–25 mm long, with a fleshy aril almost completely surrounding the single seed, but with the tip of the seed exposed. The male (pollen) cones are 10–15 mm long, slender.

The markedly longer leaves and large seeds readily distinguish it from the yews in the genus Taxus.

  1. ↑ Thomas, P. (2010). "Austrotaxus spicata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T31006A9599123. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T31006A9599123.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ de Laubenfels, D.J. (1972) Gymnospermes. In Flore de La Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances, edited by A. Aubréville and J. F. Leroy, 4:1–168. Paris: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.
  3. ↑ Cheng, Y., R. G. Nicolson, K. Tripp, and S. M. Chaw. (2000) Phylogeny of Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae Genera Inferred from Chloroplast matK Gene and Nuclear rDNA ITS Region.” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14 (3): 353–65.
  4. ↑ Gymnosperm Database: Austrotaxus
  • Price, R. A. (2003). Generic and familial relationships of the Taxaceae from rbcL and matK sequence comparisons. Acta Hort. 615: 235-237.
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