Podocarpus Falcatus

Scientific Name: Podocarpus falcatus

Common Name: Common Yellowwood

Family: Podocarpaceae

Names in other languages: Afr) Bastergeelhout, Blou-geelhout, Fynblaar-geelhout, Gewone Geelhout, Gewonegeelhout, Kalander, Kalandergeelhout, Kolander, (Eng) Bastard Yellowwood, Common Yellowwood, Falcate Yellowwood, Outeniqua Yellowwood, Sickle-leaved Yellowwood, Small-leaved Yellowwood, Smooth-barked Yellowwood

General Information

This is the tallest of our yellowwood Trees and may reach 20-40m high An example is the 600-year-old “big Tree” at Knysna. It has a height of 36,9m, a crown spread of 35,6m, a trunk circumference of 7m and contains 48 cubic meters of wood. Once it is established, this tree is one of the quickest growing of our indigenous forest trees. These trees occur in Swaziland, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and northwards to Ethiopia. This tree is shade tolerant and grows in mountain and coastal forests. They grow best in deep, slightly acidic and well-drained soils. The crown of these trees often has “Old Man’s Beard” hanging down from the high branches.

Features of Podocarpus falcatus that make it identifiable:

Bark: In young trees, the bark is smooth, thin, and rather greyish to purplish dark brown or chocolate coloured. Young normally smooth Branches tend to droop, are often square in cross-section and generally ridged by downward sloping petioles . Here the leaves are nearly opposite. Current year branches are green . Bark is a distinguishing characteristic. In older trees, the bark is shed in round or uneven flakes. Directly after shedding parts of the bark, the much lighter, distinctive red-brown underbark is temporally exposed. This is distinctive and occurs in midsummer. This soon darkens but the scars are still visible for some time.

Leaves: On this evergreen tree, the small and narrow Leaves are simple (have a single blade which may have incisions that are not deep enough to divide the leaf into leaflets). Younger leaves are a light green (photo 324) and soft. The blue-green mature leaves are linear-lanceolate and may be falcate (sickle-shaped). They often have a greyish bloom. However, they can also be lighter and slightly yellowish. The usually spirally arranged leaves may be opposite or whorled,

Flowers: In southern Africa flowering occurs from September to May and fruiting mostly throughout the year peaking from December to January

Fruit : The Fruit grows on a woody stalk and lacks the fleshy receptacle base (photo 569) present in other indigenous genera. This helps to distinguish it from Podocarpus latifolius, which has a slightly swollen fleshy receptacle. The Seeds do not occur in typical woody pinecone structure. In spring, the fruit becomes yellow and fleshy and usually surrounds a single hard seed with spike-like knobs . Each hard ripe fruit is up to 2cm wide.,

Uses

Medicinal

Oil extracted from the seeds or fruits are used to treat gonorrhea. The sap is used as a remedy for chest complaints.

Non Medicinal

The ripe fruit is edible but very resinous. Fuel: P. falcatus is a suitable source of firewood. It furnishes an excellent timber of an attractive yellow to yellowish brown color throughout with normally no clear distinction between sapwood and heartwood. The wood is normally straight-grained very fine, featureless and non resinous. Soft and moderately hard and of medium density, though needs preservatives and careful seasoning to prevent warping. The timber of this species is a standard building timber and is extensively used for floors and roofing though not suitable for external joinery and door frames. The light wood of high quality is widely used for furniture, paneling, shelving, drawer linings, shop counters and light duty impregnated railway sleepers. Being free of odor and taste, it is the wood most used locally for butter and cheese boxes and other food containers. The bark contains 3-6% tannin and is used for tanning leather.

Poison: Leaves contain podolide, which is a main ingredient for some insecticides.