From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Afrocarpus falcatus
is a
tree
in the family
Podocarpaceae
. Common terms include common yellowwood, bastard yellowwood, outeniqua yellowwood, African fern pine, and weeping yew.
The tree is native to the
montane
forests of southern Africa. It can be found in
Malawi
,
Mozambique
,
South Africa
, and
Swaziland
. The tree is widespread in some areas and not considered threatened.
[1]
In South Africa it is a protected tree in South Africa.
This is an
evergreen
conifer
. It often grows up to about 45 meters tall, but is known to reach 60 m. The trunk can be 2 to 3 m wide, and is gray-brown to reddish. The leaves are arranged in spirals on the branches. They are small and narrow, up to 4.5 cm long by about 6 mm wide.
Female trees bear their fruit only every few years. The main agents of
seed dispersal
are
fruit bats
. They eat the fleshy covering but discard the hard, woody seed.
Many birds feed on the fruits, such as
hornbills
,
Cape parrot
,
purple-crested turaco
,
Knysna turaco
,
Ross's turaco
,
African olive pigeon
,
African green pigeon
, and
eastern bronze-naped pigeon
.
Colobus monkeys
,
bushpigs
and rodents also feed on the fruits.