What the title says. I'm currently writing about Podocarps in New Zealand, but I can't seem to find a solid definition of what "a podocarp" actually is.
I've been trying to figure this out for far too long, please someone help!
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/podocarp-hardwood-forests/
States that podocarps belong to both the family Podocarpaceae and the family Phyllocladaceae.
https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/vascular/conifers/podocarps/
Seems to imply "podocarp" as a name refers to plants bearing cones within certain charecterisitcs, and lists genera in both the Podocarpaceae and the family Phyllocladaceae.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/70279-Podocarpaceae
Describes podocarps as in the Podocarpaceae family but acknowledges phyllocladus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllocladus
The wikipedia page on Phyllocladus debates if phyllocladus is a genus within Phyllocladaceae or within Podocarpaceae, even labelling different genera in different parts of the page.
And Merriam webster and Colins dictionary both say podocarp refers to plants within the genus podocarpus and don't acknowledge the families, or any other genus within the families at all!
These are just a few examples of sources I've found. Help!!
by Weird-Repeat-8404
1 Comment
Well, what you’re seeing with regards to Phyllocadus is the slow grinding wheel of phylogenetic history turning. What once was seen as different has been lumped, and once again viewed from many angles. Creating a monophyletic tree isn’t always easy or possible with what we know presently.
Per the gymnosperm database (which has a whole section on new zealand conifers btw and the author is one I find greatly helpful.) regarding Phyllocladaceae: “Keng (1962-1978) suggests that this genus should be placed in a family of its own, Phyllocladaceae Bessey 1907. The genus is differentiated from other podocarps in having a structure resembling an aril (see [Taxaceae](https://www.conifers.org/ta/Taxaceae.php)) as well as an epimatium, and in having a different number of chromosomes and a different pollination mechanism. However, it also has much in common with other podocarps; “they share as winged pollen with a prothallial tissue, an epimatium, and binucleate embryo cells.”
[https://www.conifers.org/po/Phyllocladus.php](https://www.conifers.org/po/Phyllocladus.php)
In short, a podocarp is a general term for all the aforementioned, used as short hand to denote a group, much like happens with ferns and their allies. It clearly implies podocarpaceae, but what isnt seen is just how much mixing around has gone on over the years since the term was coined some century plus ago.
For a deeper dive on said shufflings: [https://www.conifers.org/po/Podocarpaceae.php](https://www.conifers.org/po/Podocarpaceae.php)