Scientific Name : Nageia nagi (Thunb.) Kuntze
Common Name : Nagi, Japanese Podocarpus
Chinese Name : 竹柏
Family : PODOCARPACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origins | South, Central and East China. Also distributed in Japan. |
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| Is it a bamboo or a juniper? | Its Chinese name “Bamboo-Juniper (竹柏)” contains two categories of plants: bamboos and junipers. The leaves of the Nagi have fine parallel veins without mid-rib, which are similar to those in bamboos. Meanwhile, the crown of the Nagi is cone-shaped, which resembles a juniper. So, what does Nagi belong to? Actually, it is neither a bamboo nor a juniper. Nagi is a gymnosperm, it does not bear flowers or fruits, and it belongs to genus Nageia under the family Podocarpaceae. Overall, it shares a closer phylogenetic relationship with the junipers, which are also gymnosperm. |
| Applications | Nagi has a wide range of applications. The species is commonly used as horticultural plants and street trees, as it has a straight trunk covered by dense foliage, with glaucous and globose seeds which are cute and interesting. Since its seeds contain high oil content, oil can be extracted for both human consumption or industrial uses. The cooking oil made from Nagi’s seeds is slightly bitter, whereas the bitterness can be removed by boiling. Showing straight grains and fine structure, and exhibiting intermediate hardness, the wood of Nagi is durable and suitable for processing. The wood can be made into construction materials, furniture, crafts and containers. It also demonstrates therapeutical functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, antitumor, antiviral, etc. It is also used as folk medicine, such as Yao medicine (瑤藥). In Traditional Chinese Medicines, it can dispel wind and dampness, stop bleeding and assist the recovery of bone fractures. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. Crown broadly conical. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 20 m. |
| Stems | Bark reddish brown to dark purplish red, peeling in small and thin flakes. |
| Leaves | Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, leathery. With many parallel veins, without midveins. Leaves dark green and glossy adaxially, pale green abaxially. |
| Strobilus | Axillary. Male cones cylindric, usually in branch-like clusters. Female cones usually solitary, rarely paired. |
| Seeds | Globose. Epimatium (aril) green and glaucous when young, dark purple when mature. |
| Pollinating | March to May in Hong Kong. |
| Seed maturing | August to November in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=9334
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Nageia nagi (Thunberg) Kuntze
― Plants of the World Online : Nageia nagi (Thunb.) Kuntze