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From: Tom Ogren
(Sun Feb 15 19:38:41 2004)
This is a branch from a male Fern Pine, Podocarpus gracilior. In southern states, and especially in California and Florida, these Yew (Taxus species) relatives are very common landscape shrubs or trees. Fern Pines can get 60 feet tall and as wide.
The Fern Pine in the photo is loaded with pollen cones, most of them just about to explode. Actually, if you look closly, you can see quite a bit of pollen on the leaves. Pollen from this plant is both allergenic and poisonous, and can trigger hay fever, asthma, headache, sore throat, fever,
symptoms similar to MS, symptoms similar to MCS, itchy skin rash, and can mimic the neagtive side affects of chemo therapy. Localized over-exposure to pollen from these male cloned trees and shrubs is very common since they are so often used as foundation shrubs in landscapes.
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