Afrocarpus (J. Buchholz & N. E. Gray) C. N. Page

Description of the genus

Evergreen dioecious trees, up to 60 m high but usually smaller. Bark thin, often peeling. Leaves spirally arranged or opposite in young plants, linear to lanceolate, flat, leathery, with a single visible midrib. Stomata present found on both surfaces. Male pollen cones and female seed cones borne on separate plants. Cones shortly pedunculate, developing from axillary buds. Male cones 2-3 together, narrowly cylindrical, catkin-like. Cones with numerous, microsporophylls each with two basal pollen sacs. Female cones solitary. Small scale-like leaves present on the peduncles. Sterile cone scales and one fertile cone scale present in each cone. Sterile scales withering as the cone matures, not forming a fleshy receptacle as in Podocarpus. Seeds drupe-like, subglobose to elliptic or obovoid, greenish to yellow or brown.

Derivation of name: Afro-, referring to the African origin of this genus.

Worldwide: 3-6 species in tropical and South Africa.

Malawi: 1 taxon.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
falcatus (Thunb.) C.N. PageN

Other sources of information about Afrocarpus:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Afrocarpus
Flora of Mozambique: Afrocarpus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Afrocarpus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Afrocarpus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Afrocarpus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Afrocarpus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Afrocarpus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Afrocarpus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Afrocarpus
JSTOR Plant Science: Afrocarpus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Afrocarpus
Plants of the World Online: Afrocarpus
Tropicos: Afrocarpus
Wikipedia: Afrocarpus

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Afrocarpus.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=2522, retrieved 29 March 2024

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