Podocarpaceae Acmopyle pancheri (Brongn. & Gris) Pilg.
Etymology
Acmopyle refers to ‘highest point’ (akme) and ‘opening’ (pyle); indicating the position of it’s seed on a fleshy receptacle.
pancheri refers to the plant collector J. A. I. Pancher, who collected it in 1869.
Colloquial Name
New Caledonia acmopyle
Description
These trees range from small to medium in size, reaching up to 25 meters in height, though they are often smaller. They have a single, upright trunk that can grow up to 50 centimeters in diameter. The bark starts off smooth but becomes rough and scaly as the tree matures, breaking into small plates that are brown at first but fade to grey over time. The inner bark has a somewhat fibrous texture. The branches spread out horizontally in younger trees, but in older ones, they grow in a more irregular and upward-reaching pattern, with most of the foliage concentrated towards the branch tips.
The smaller branchlets that hold the foliage are round in cross-section, with tiny leaf tips that spread outward. The leaves are arranged in a spiral pattern along the branch, with their bases extending slightly down the stem. The final branchlets that bear the leaves are 3 to 15 centimeters long, growing alternately along the larger branches. Most of these branchlets grow at an angle and naturally fall off after a few years. Near their base, the leaves are small and scale-like, but they gradually increase in size and take on a more comb-like arrangement as they extend outward.
On seedlings, the leaves grow in an alternating pattern and are arranged in a comb-like fashion. They are long, narrow, and straight, about 15 millimeters in length and 1.5 millimeters wide, with tips that are either sharply pointed or slightly prickly. In young and mature trees, the leaves are similar in shape but vary slightly in their positioning and curvature. They are arranged alternately along the branches, sticking out at angles between 60 and 90 degrees. The leaves are generally straight but often curve slightly towards their tips. On some vigorous branches, they may develop a gentle S-shape. In the middle of the branchlets, the leaves are between 10 and 30 millimeters long and 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide, gradually becoming shorter near the base and slightly shorter towards the tip. The bases are slightly twisted, extending down the branch. The edges of the leaves curl downward, and the tips can be either rounded or pointed, often curving slightly forward. A narrow midrib runs along the center of each leaf, faint on the upper surface but more prominent below. The upper surface is glossy and dark green, while the underside has two whitish bands separated by a green central stripe, with additional green coloring along the edges. Stomata, which allow gas exchange, are present on both surfaces of the leaf, forming numerous interrupted lines. Some of these are found along the midrib on the lower side, while a few also appear near the base or tip of the leaf on the upper surface.
The pollen cones, which produce pollen, grow at the ends or near the tips of small lateral branches. They can appear alone or in groups of two or three and are attached to short stalks covered in small scale-like leaves. At first, they are round but lengthen as they mature, reaching 20 to 25 millimeters long and about 3 millimeters wide when fully developed. The tiny, overlapping structures that make up the cones have a ridge along their backs and are initially sharply pointed, later developing a longer, more tapering tip. They spread outward but curve slightly inward at the tip and contain two small pollen sacs at their base.
The seed cones grow in similar locations to the pollen cones, either at the ends or along small lateral branches. Sometimes, they appear at the base of small scale-like leaves or among the regular foliage leaves. They usually develop alone but can occasionally be found in groups of two or three. Each cone is attached to a short, curved stalk up to 12 millimeters long, which is also covered in small scale-like leaves. The cone itself consists of several sterile scales along with one or two fertile ones, which are fused together to form a fleshy, swollen structure. This structure is irregular in shape, covered in small bumps, and often has a powdery or waxy coating. It grows to be about 15 to 20 millimeters long and 8 to 10 millimeters wide.
Each seed cone contains one or two seeds at the top end of the fleshy structure. The seeds are nearly round, measuring between 7 and 10 millimeters in diameter, including their protective outer covering. They develop a small crest and a powdery surface as they mature.
Distribution
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Habitat
The natural habitats for Acmopyle pancheri are subtropical/tropical moist montane forests. It is naturally found at an elevation of at least 1600 up to 1600 metres. There are no conifers associated with Acmopyle pancheri that are known of.
USDA Hardiness zone – 10
Acmopyle pancheri is hardy to USDA Zone 10 (Bannister & Neuner, 2001), meaning its frost tolerance lies somewhere in the range of -1.1C (30F) to 4.4C (40F).
Species Continuity
The population trend for Acmopyle pancheri is unknown. There are ongoing threats for Acmopyle pancheri and they are listed as follows:
IUCN Category – NT
According to the IUCN Red List, Acmopyle pancheri has been assigned the status of NT(Near Threatened). This means that according to the Red List criteria, this species is not threatened, but is close to having this status.
Superordinate Taxa
The nearest superordinate taxon for Acmopyle pancheri is Acmopyle. The coordinate taxa for Acmopyle pancheri are therefore:
Acmopyle pancheri is also placed under Podocarpaceae.
This map shows botanical records (points) for this taxon. By opening the map’s sidebar (collapsed by default) you can toggle visibility or change the basemap. By clicking on records, you reveal more information.
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