Podocarpus drouynianus is a species of podocarp native to the relatively high rainfall southwestern corner of Western Australia, where it is known by the name emu berry,
Description
The plant is usually a shrub, not often forming a single trunk, instead growing multiple branches from around the base. It looks like a conifer, typically grows to a height of It is dioecious and very slow-growing. The bark is thin and fibrous, green in colour turning red-brown on the outside. The leaves are needle-like, long, sharply pointed, green above and with glaucous stomatal bands beneath. The cones are berry-like, with a fleshy, edible purple aril long and one (rarely two) apical seeds 1 cm long.
Distribution
It grows on lower slopes and low-lying areas and around creeks in the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia where it grows in loamy, sandy or gravelly soils. and noted as an important food of the first peoples of Southwest Australia.
Classification
The species was initially described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1864 in his work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. There are two synonyms for this species: Nageia drouyniana and Podocarpus drouyniana. The species name honors the statesman Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys who was a member of the Institut de France.