Scientific name: Podocarpus matudae C. Lundell 1937

Synonyms: Podocarpus matudae var. jaliscanus de Laub. & Silba, Podocarpus matudae subsp. jaliscanus (de Laub. & Silba) Silba, Podocarpus matudae var. macrocarpus J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray, Podocarpus matudae subsp. macrocarpus (J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray) Silba, Podocarpus matudae var. reichei (J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray) de Laub. & Silba, Podocarpus matudae subsp. reichei (J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray) Silba, Podocarpus reichei J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray

Common names: Matuda podocarp, Sabino (Spanish)

Description

Tree to 20 m tall or more, with trunk to 1(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark furrowed. gray. Twigs green, prominently but narrowly grooved between the attached leaf bases. Resting buds elongated, the core about 3-5 mm long, the longer bud scales up to 15 mm long, loosely constructed of upright, narrowly triangular to somewhat leaflike bud scales. Leaves projecting around the twigs, widely spaced along them but more concentrated near the ends of growth, dark green above, a little paler beneath, leathery, flat, the edges slightly turned down, (4-)7-9(-12) cm long (to 20 cm in juveniles), 10-16 mm wide (to 19 mm in juveniles). Blades straight or somewhat curved to one side, widest near the middle or slightly below, tapering gradually to the narrowly prolonged, triangular tip and to the roundly wedge-shaped base with a short petiole 1-5 mm long. Midrib raised above, especially near the base, and weakly raised beneath, with one resin canal beneath the midvein, relatively little support tissue for the size of the leaf, and a continuous layer of hypodermis beneath the upper epidermis. Pollen cones (3-)4-6 cm long and 4-5 mm wide, one (or two) directly in the axils of foliage leaves or on a stalk to 2 mm long. Pollen scales with a minutely toothed, upturned, triangular tip 1-2 mm long. Seed cones on a leafless stalk (4-)8-18 mm long, without basal bracteoles, the reproductive part with two very unequal bracts, these and the axis becoming swollen and fleshy, reddish to dark brown, (4-)6-9 mm long by 4-6 mm thick. Fertile seed scale one, the combined seed coat and epimatium thinly fleshy over a hard inner shell, smooth or a bit wrinkled, (8-)12-15(-18) mm long by (7-)10-14 mm thick, with a low, blunt crest and a small beak. The species and common name honor Eizi Matuda (1894-1978), a Mexican botanist who made extensive collections in the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas, including the type specimen of this species.

Mountains and nearby lowlands of northern Mesoamerica, from southern San Luis Potosi and Veracruz (Mexico) to Santa Ana (El Salvador) and Chiquimula (Guatemala) and possibly in adjacent Honduras. Scattered in the canopy of cloud forests and of mixed montane forests with pines, oaks, and other hardwoods; (200-)1,000-2,500(-3,500) m. Precipitation is high, with annual rainfall of 1,500-3,000 mm and frequent fog at high altitudes.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable

This species is very widespread, but occurs in scattered (severely fragmented) localities (47 were identified from herbarium records) and 11-12 subpopulations. As an occasional to common tree in the right type of forest, it does not form extensive stands. Estimating the area of occupancy (AOO) on this basis is difficult, as on the one hand it is sure to occur in many uncollected localities yet within these few trees exist. There is no doubt that the species is declining, mainly due to habitat loss. Using a slightly larger grid size than IUCN recommends (4 km, not 2 km) to compensate for uncollected sites leads to an AOO of 720 km2 and a listing of Vulnerable.

Subpopulations are scattered, disjunct, usually small in numbers of individuals, severely fragmented and decreasing due to deforestation and logging.

Podocarpus matudae is found in mixed pine forest, pine-oak forest, montane rain forest, and evergreen cloud forest. Most trees in the broad-leaved forests are oaks (Quercus spp.) but also abundant are other deciduous trees such as Liquidambar, Magnolia, Ostrea, Clethra, and, especially in Chiapas, Puebla and Veracruz, species of northern genera like Fagus, Carpinus and Platanus. It grows often in ravines near streams. In Jalisco and Nayarit it is associated with Clusia salbrinii, Pinus herrerae, Pinus douglasiana, Abies guatemalensis and Acer. In Hidalgo it occurs with Alnus jorullensis, Clethra macrophylla, Cleyera theaeoides, Liquidambar macrophylla, Magnolia schideana, Quercus affinis, Quercus eugeniifolia, Quercus sartorii, Quercus xalapensis and Ternstroemia huasteca (Contreras-Medina et al. 2006).

The wood of this tree is fine grained, yellow, and of high quality for building and construction purposes. Podocarpus matudae is slow growing and can only be harvested sustainably at very long rotations, while successful regeneration requires a forest habitat with a mixture of other trees (microclimate) as well as the animal vector for its dispersal. It is therefore not suitable for plantation forestry. In warm temperate to subtropical countries it would be a suitable amenity tree for streets and parks. It is occasionally seen in cultivation, mainly restricted to arboreta and other living plant collections, and in the western USA usually under its synonym Podocarpus reichei.

This species occurs in the following protected areas: Sierra de Manantlán (Jalisco), El Trunfo Reserve, Reserva de la Biósfera El Cielo, Cuenca Hidrografica del Rio Necaxa and the Pico Pijol Reserves in Mexico and Honduras. This species is listed on the Mexican National Redlist (Diario Oficial de la Federación 2010) as needing special protection and as Critically Endangered in Guatemala (Vivero 2006).

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland