Australian National Botanic Gardens

Prumnopitys ladei

Mt Spurgeon Black Pine

Family Podocarpaceae

Botanical name. Prumnopitys comes from two Greek words prymnos= hindmost or stern, and pitys= pine, which refers to how the resin duct, characteristic of pine trees, is located behind the midrib of the leaf. The species name ladei honours Frank Lade, (1868­1948), social reformist and preacher.

Habitat. A tree that grows to above the canopy in broadleaf forests and dense podocarp forests.

Features. These trees grow to 20 m, live up to 600 years and grow very slowly (1­2 mm in diameter each year). The male and female cones were thought to grow on different plants, but one tree in the Australian National Botanic Gardens has produced both male and female on the same plant. The seeds are often dispersed by birds. This species has been placed on the Rare or Threatened Australian Plants (ROTAP) list as rare.

European use. These trees have good timber but are too rare to be of commercial importance.