Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)

This plant belongs to the genus Podocarpus in the family Podocarpaceae; its scientific name is Podocarpus macrophyllus. This page stays at the species level: my plant has grown at my family's home for more than 20 years and its origin can no longer be traced, so I can't tell whether it's a variety such as var. maki. The Taiwan Catalogue of Life lists the species as 大葉羅漢松 ("large-leaved arhat pine") and var. maki as 小葉羅漢松 ("small-leaved arhat pine").

It is an evergreen tree native from southern China to northern Myanmar, Taiwan and Japan, growing primarily in the subtropical biome, and is native to Taiwan. The Flora of China records it reaching 20 m tall, with spirally arranged, linear-lanceolate leaves 1.7 to 12 cm long.

Seeds and receptacles

Podocarpus is a gymnosperm and does not form true fruits. The seed-bearing structures are solitary in the leaf axils and stalked, with a fleshy receptacle that turns red to purple-red when ripe; the seed is ovoid, about 1 cm across, and its epimatium turns purplish black with a white bloom when ripe. Pollination is in April and May, and the seeds ripen in August and September.

Hong Kong's government greening website explains the Chinese name 羅漢松 ("arhat pine"): the fleshy receptacle turns red when ripe, like a monk's body, and the round seed on top looks like the head, so the whole resembles a monk wearing a robe.

The North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox notes that the fleshy receptacle is edible but the seeds are poisonous; the toxicity is low, and eating them can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Conservation

The Taiwan Catalogue of Life records its national Red List category in Taiwan as Nationally Vulnerable (NVU), while the IUCN global assessment is Least Concern (LC). It is not listed in the CITES Appendices.