Podocarpus Lawrencei

Podocarpus lawrencei is a species of podocarp native throughout the Australian high country, from southern Tasmania through to the New South Wales highlands. Common names are Errinundra Plum-pine and Mountain Plum-pine (though it is neither a pine nor a plum). It grows on exposed sites to 1,800 m, often forming living carpets over rocks through wind pruning.

The leaves are 1 cm long and 2-3 mm broad, green, often reddish-tinted, particularly so in cold winter weather. It has small bright red berry-like cones, with a 5-10 mm long red aril and one (rarely two) apical seeds 6-8 mm long; they are eaten by birds and marsupials, but are toxic to most other mammals (including humans).

Whilst it is normally low growing, rarely reaching more than 1 m in the Australian Alps, on the Errinundra Plateau in eastern Victoria it reaches 15 m height. The timber is too rare to be used for woodcrafts.

There has been some debate over whether Podocarpus lawrencei is really a separate species from Podocarpus alpinus; some botanists treat it as a variety of that species. The name is frequently misspelled as lawrencii.