Podocarpus oleifolius D. Don

Tree to 25(–30) m, trunk straight, to 1.5 m dbh, shrubby in exposed sites at altitude. Bark thin, yellowish-brown and smooth at first, grey-brown and scaly with age. Branchlets with prominent grooves and leaf scars. Terminal buds of leading shoots subglobose, 3–5 mm wide, with short, imbricate, rounded or ovate scales 3–4 mm long; lateral buds globose with thick, rounded scales. Leaves of established trees leathery, lanceolate to linear, extremely variable even on the same tree, (1.5–)4–9 × (0.5–)0.7–1.2 cm, largest on shaded shoots (much larger on juvenile plants, to 15 × 2 cm), straight to slightly curved, base tapering, petiolate, apex tapering to an acute or obtuse apex; upper surface dark green with a narrow midrib in a central groove; lower surface dull green, midrib forming a small but conspicuous ridge, sometimes grooved near the tip, with two stomatal bands either side. Pollen cones sessile, solitary, cylindrical, 25–30 × 3–4 mm. Seed cones solitary on short peduncles, with two bracts which fuse to become a swollen, fleshy receptacle 6–10 mm long, maturing red. Seed including the epimatium ovoid-globose, olive green, 7–8 mm long. (Farjon 2017).

Distribution  Bolivia Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz Nicaragua Panama Peru Venezuela

Habitat In a diverse range of habitats across a large range, in montane to alpine forests at (800–)1200–3300 m asl, most commonly above 2000 m asl.

USDA Hardiness Zone 9

RHS Hardiness Rating H3

Conservation status Least concern (LC)