Phyllocladus alpinus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Araucariales |
Family: | Podocarpaceae |
Genus: | Phyllocladus |
Species: | P. alpinus
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Binomial name | |
Phyllocladus alpinus |
Phyllocladus alpinus, the mountain toatoa or mountain celery pine, is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Zealand. The form of this plant ranges from a shrub to a small tree of up to seven metres in height. [1] This species is found in both the North and South Islands. [2] An example occurrence of P. alpinus is within the understory of beech/ podocarp forests in the north part of South Island, New Zealand. [3]
The species contains the flavan-3-ols catechin, epicatechin and phylloflavan (ent-epicatechin-3-δ-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-β-hydroxypentanoate). [4]
This species plays host to the New Zealand endemic beetles Agapanthida morosa and Agapanthida pulchella. [5]
In both 2009 and 2012 it was deemed to be "Not Threatened" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, [6] and this New Zealand classification was reaffirmed in 2018. [7]