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This is Cephalotaxus fortunei a slow growing coniferous shrub from the Cephalotaxaceae family. Commonly known as the 'Chinese plum yew', this plant is a muti-stemmed shrub with peeling stripes of reddish brown bark and linear-lanceolate green foliage. It likes a humid sheltered site in moist, well drained sandy soil.
This plant is dioecious; having separate male and female flowers on separate plants. The female cones sit at the base of the current years shoots borne together in groups of 3 to 6. Companion planting of opposite sexes is required for fruit production. Pollination is achieved via wind, once fertilised it takes two years for the plum-like fruit (arils) to ripen. The fruit from Cephalotaxus harringtonia are edible, however it is not advised to eat the fruits of Cephalotaxus fortunei as not enough research has been done into this species.
Pictured above is a male plant from The Cambridge Botanical Gardens. We know this because there are 16 microsporophylls present on the leaf, each containing 3 or 4 pollen sacs. The microsporophylls sit in the leaf axils of the previous years shoots. There can be anywhere between 6-16 microsporophylls per leaf. This plant is dioecious; having separate male and female flowers on separate plants. The female cones sit at the base of the current years shoots borne together in groups of 3 to 6. Companion planting of opposite sexes is required for fruit production. Pollination is achieved via wind, once fertilised it takes two years for the plum-like fruit (arils) to ripen. The fruit from Cephalotaxus harringtonia are edible, however it is not advised to eat the fruits of Cephalotaxus fortunei as not enough research has been done into this species.
Microsporophylls- A leaflike structure that bears microsporangia. For perspective, the stamens of flowering plants are highly modified microsporophylls.
