Dacrydium is a genus of evergreen dioecious conifers in the family Podocarpaceae, order Araucariales, comprising around sixteen to twenty-one accepted species of trees and shrubs. The genus was first described by Solander in 1786 and once encompassed a much broader assemblage. Major taxonomic revisions by de Laubenfels (1969) and Quinn (1982) split the original genus: the former Section A became Falcatifolium, Section C was divided into Lepidothamnus, Lagarostrobos, and Halocarpus, while Section B was retained as Dacrydium in its current, narrower circumscription.
Members of the genus are characterized by scale-like to needle-like leaves that change markedly between juvenile and adult growth stages. The type species, Dacrydium cupressinum (rimu), is one of New Zealand's most iconic trees, reaching 35–60 m in height with a stout trunk up to 2 m in diameter, deeply furrowed dark-brown bark that sheds in thick flakes, and weeping branchlets. Its wood is dark red and highly valued. Juvenile leaves are linear-subulate and up to 10 mm long; adult leaves are much shorter (2–3 mm), appressed, and trigonous. Like all podocarps, Dacrydium produces arillate seeds rather than woody cones — in D. cupressinum the seed sits in a fleshy red or deep-orange receptacle and is dispersed by birds.
The natural range of Dacrydium spans the southwestern Pacific and Southeast Asia, from New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands through Malesia (New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines) to Thailand and southern China. Species occupy lowland to montane forest habitats. Dacrydium cupressinum remains not threatened in New Zealand under the 2023 NZTCS assessment, though rimu-dominated forest has been greatly reduced by historical logging.
Etymology
The genus name Dacrydium derives from the Greek dakrydion, meaning "tear drop," likely an allusion to the small, drop-like arillate seeds or the resinous exudates of the bark. The name was applied by Solander in 1786.
Distribution
Dacrydium ranges from New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands through Malesia (New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines) northward to Thailand and southern China. In New Zealand, the type species D. cupressinum (rimu) occurs throughout the North Island from North Cape southward, on the South Island, and on Stewart Island/Rakiura, inhabiting lowland to montane forest and occasionally subalpine scrub.
Ecology
Species occupy lowland to montane forest habitats across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. D. cupressinum flowers from December to March; fruits require a year or more to mature and are most visible between February and May. The arillate seeds — enclosed in a fleshy red or orange receptacle — are dispersed by frugivorous birds. D. cupressinum is a facultative upland plant (FACU), only occasionally occurring in wetland conditions.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus was first described by Solander in 1786 with a broader circumscription. Florin (1931) organized it into Sections A, B, and C. Subsequent revisions by de Laubenfels (1969) and Quinn (1982) substantially narrowed Dacrydium: Section A became the new genus Falcatifolium; Section C was split into Lepidothamnus, Lagarostrobos, and Halocarpus; Section B was retained as the current Dacrydium. Plants of the World Online accepted twenty-one species as of March 2025. GBIF places the genus in family Podocarpaceae; different GBIF backbone sources assign it to order Araucariales (key 103017393) or Pinales (key 211389622).
Cultivation
D. cupressinum (rimu) is commonly cultivated in New Zealand and frequently sold by commercial nurseries. It is easily grown from fresh seed. Hardwood cuttings can also be used but are slow to strike.
Cultural Uses
Young growing tips of rimu (D. cupressinum) were used by Captain Cook to brew what is recorded as the first indigenous beer in New Zealand — a spruce-style beer brewed at Dusky Sound in 1773 (Kirk 1889).
