Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Podocarpus lawrencei

Leaves and male cones. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Kosciuszko National Park

Leafy stems with male cones. Photographer Don Wood, Namadgi National Park

Leafy stems and mature female cone. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Shrub with mature female cones. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer R Jackson, Kosciuszko National Park

Common name

Mountain plum pine

Family

Podocarpaceae

Where found

Subalpine woodland, grassy areas, alpine herbfields, and rocky areas and scree slopes at higher altitudes. ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park.

Notes

Shrub to 4 m high or prostrate to sprawling, hairless. Stalks of seeds fleshy. Bark smooth, pale coppery-brown and inclined to peel in papery sheets. Leaves aromatic when rubbed, alternating along the stems, crowded, 0.4–1.6 cm long, 1–4 mm wide, rigid, leathery, dark green, tips blunt or with a small abrupt point. Male and female cones usually on different plants, rarely on the same plant. Male cones 4–15 mm long, about 1.5 mm wide, reddish purple becoming yellow, in clusters of 1-6. Female cones consisting of a green seed 6-12 mm long, with a pale green fleshy stalk 3–5 mm long, turning bright red and fleshy at maturity and 4–8 mm long. Flowers Spring.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Podocarpus~lawrencei  (accessed 1 February, 2021)