African fern pine, East African yellowwood
Afrocarpus gracilior

Family: Podocarpaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree. It grows 20-40 m tall. The trunk is 50-80 cm across. The leaves are sword shaped and arranged in spirals. They are 2-6 cm long by 3-5 mm wide. Leaves can be larger in young tree. The seed cones have a single seed 2 cm across. This has a thin fleshy coating. The mature seed is purple. The cones can occur singly or in clusters or 2 or 3.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in tropical mountain forest.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa (country/location of origin), America, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Fruit - aril

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Cobola, Weeping podocarpus

Synonyms

Afrocarpus falcatus subsp. gracilior (Pilg.) Silba; Decussocarpus gracilior (Pilg.) de Laub.; Nageia falcata var. gracilior (Pilg.) Silba; Podocarpus gracilior Pilg.;