Podocarpus Elatus
Common name: Illawarra Plum
- I grow best: Tolerates drought & salt, frost tender.
- Part shade/full sun
- Height 5 – 10 metres (40 metres in the wild) width 4-7m
- Edible fruit, fruits from 3-5yrs
- Gondwana Land species
- Attracts – bees & insects
Looks like: Plum Pine trees grow to 40 m and are fast growing, taking 8 to 10 years to reach maturity. They do not have cones like the other conifers but instead have a single seed attached by a fleshy stem to the branch. This clearly shows that conifer seeds are not surrounded by a fruit. The male and female cones are found on different trees. Birds help disperse the seeds of Plum Pines. Podocarpus plants are fire tolerant (unlike most other conifers).
Habitat & Growing : These trees grow in dense subtropical, riverine and seashore rainforests along the East Coast of Australia.
Distribution:
Traditional uses: The fleshy stems of the seeds were eaten by Aboriginal people in some parts of Australia.