Broad-leaved podocarpus, Asian bayberry
Nageia nagi

Family: Podocarpaceae

What it is like

A shrub or tree. It grows to 20 m tall. The trunk can be 50 cm across. The bark is reddish brown. It peels in small thin flakes. The branches can be spreading or hanging. The leaves are opposite. The leaf stalks are twisted at the base. The leaf blade is 2-9 cm long by 0.7-3 cm wide. It is leathery. The male and female cones are separate. The cones are in the axils of the leaves. They can be single of in groups of up to 10. The female cones are round with bluish-green round seeds. These are 12 mm across.

There are 12 Nagia species.

Where it is found

It is a warm temperate plant. It grows in evergreen broad-leaved and oak forests in dry mountain sides and along streams. It grows from 200-1200 m altitude in S China. It suits hardiness zones 8-10.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, China, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Macao, North America, SE Asia, Singapore, Taiwan, USA, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The seeds yield an edible oil. The young leaves are eaten boiled.

Edible parts

Leaves, seeds-oil

How it is grown

Plants are easily grown from seed.

Its other names

Local names

Nagai podocarpus, Nagi, Zhu bai

Synonyms

Myrica nagi Thunberg; Decussocarpus nagi (Thunberg) de Laubenfels; Decussocarpus nagi var. formosensis (Dummer) Silba; Nageia formosensis (Dum-mer) C. N. Page; Nageia nagi var. formosensis (Dummer) Silba; Nageia nankoensis (Hayata) R. R. Mill; Podocarpus formosensis Dummer; Podocarpus japonicus J. Nelson (1866), not Siebold ex End-licher (1847); Podocarpus koshunensis (Kanehira) Kanehira; Podocarpus nageia R. Brown ex Endlicher; Podocarpus nagi (Thunberg) Pilger; Podocarpus nagi var. koshunensis Kanehira; Podocarpus nankoensis Hayata;