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Podocarp family
Podocarpaceae
マキ科
A conifer family distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere. In Japan, Nageia and Podocarpus species grow naturally in warm-temperate zones. Seeds are often enclosed in a fleshy receptacle (epimatium), adapted for bird dispersal.
Key Characteristics
- ●Seeds often enclosed in a fleshy epimatium (receptacle)
- ●Leaves variable: flat, needle-like, or scale-like
- ●Cones small with few scales
- ●Greatest diversity concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Needle / Ovate
Growth form
Tree / Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Stipules
Absent
Petal fusion
No petals
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious
Phylogenetic Position
Gymnosperms > Conifers > Pinales > Podocarpaceae
Divergence Era
Mesozoic Jurassic (approx. 180 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Adaptation to bird dispersal via fleshy receptacles
- ・Distribution expansion into the Southern Hemisphere associated with Gondwana breakup
Plants in Podocarp family on this site
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