Podocarpus drouynianus

Location & distribution maps

Plant description

Common name:         Emu berry

• Also, wild plum or native plum

• The Noongar name for the plant is koolah

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, "foot") + καρπός (karpós, "fruit")

• The species name honors the statesman Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys who was a member of the Institut de France

Cones and seed:                            

• It is dioecious and very slow-growing

• The cones are berry-like, with a fleshy, edible purple aril 2 to 2.5 cm long 

• One (rarely two) apical seeds 1 cm 1 cm long

Leaves:         

• The leaves are needle-like, 4 to 8 cm long and sharply pointed

• Green above and with glaucous stomatal bands beneath

Stem & branches: 

• The plant is usually a shrub, not often forming a single trunk, instead growing multiple branches from around the base

• It looks like a conifer, typically grows to a height of 0.75 to 3 m and forms clumps a few metres wide

• The bark is thin and fibrous, green in colour turning red-brown on the outside

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Usually a shrub 

Habitat:   

•  it grows in loamy, sandy or gravelly soils

• It is associated as part of the understorey species present in lowland jarrah and karri and it spreads mostly by root suckering

Distribution:                  

• Native to the relatively high rainfall southwestern corner of Western Australia

• It grows on lower slopes and low-lying areas and around creeks in the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia 

• The extent of occurrence of the species is less than 20,000 square kilometres over multiple locations

• The total area of occupancy by P. drouynianus has reduced as a result of clearing of forest for pasture and the replacement of native forest with exotics

Additional notes:     

• Cultivation

  • • Ideally Podocarpus drouynianus should be grown in partial shade with plenty of water

    • Unusually for the genus, it tolerates quite dry conditions

    • It survives temperatures of up to 45 °C, and grows well in full sun or partial shade

  • The plant grows as a rounded form in cultivation, slowly attaining two metres in height and 1.5 metres in width

  • Propagation from cuttings in the usual method of planting

  • The presentation of its red and fleshy fruit is unreliable, but the plant is favoured for its appealing foliage

  • The long and leafy stems are harvested for use in the florist industry

  • The plum-like fruit is edible, although lacking any distinctive taste, and noted as an important food of the first peoples of Southwest Australia

• Classification

  • The species was initially described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1864 in his work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae

  • There are two synonyms for this species: Nageia drouyniana and Podocarpus drouyniana

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podocarpus_drouynianus   (2023)