Podocarpus acutifolius 

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
Plantae	Tracheophyta	Pinopsida	Pinales	Podocarpaceae

Scientific Name:	Podocarpus acutifolius Kirk
Common Name(s): English – Westland Totara, Needle-leaved Totara
Taxonomic Source(s):	Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Taxonomic Notes:	Natural hybrids occur between this species and P. nivalis and possibly also P. hallii (Cassie 1954).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2013
Date Assessed:	2012-02-16
Assessor(s):	Farjon, A.
Reviewer(s):	Thomas, P. & Mill, R.
Justification: Although the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy fall within the thresholds for listing as Vulnerable, there are no recorded current threats. Decline, if it has happened in the past, has halted with legal protection now provided to all native forest. This species grows mainly in non-forest environments.
Previously published Red List assessments:	1998 – Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc) Download assessment

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Endemic to New Zealand: South Island (Marlborough Sounds to S Westland).
Countries occurrence:	Native: New Zealand (South Is.)
Additional data:	♦ Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - km2: 600 ♦ Lower elevation limit (metres): 300 ♦ Upper elevation limit (metres): 1000
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Often forming dense thickets along active and passive river channels.
Current Population Trend:	Stable
Additional data:

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Podocarpus acutifolius is a shrub or bushy tree occurring in lowland to montane forest and scrub. Occurs between 300 and 1,000 m asl.
Systems:	Terrestrial
Generation Length (years):	20

Use and Trade [top]

Use and Trade:

Westland Totara is rare in cultivation. An artificial hybrid between this species and the Tasmanian endemic P. lawrencei has been raised (Murray et al. 2002).

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

No specific threats have been recorded for this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

This species is present in several protected areas.