A tree to c. 10 m tall in cultivation. Phylloclades c. 4-8 cm long with 6-12 'leaflets' each 1-2.5 cm long, the margins toothed or lobed. Cones of both sexes on the same tree. Male cones in clusters of 5-10. Female cones in clusters of 6-8, near-terminal.

New Zealand where it occurs naturally in lowland forest.

VIC: Melbourne (Royal Bot. Gds, New Zealand Beds); Mt. Macedon ('Alton').

 

Phyllocladus glaucus Carr., Toatoa, also from New Zealand is similar but has 10-20, not 2-3, fertile scales in its cones which are in short heads at the base of the phylloclades rather than on their margins: it is occasionally offered in the trade.

Source: Spencer, R. (1995). Podocarpaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 1, Ferns, conifers & their allies. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.