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''Afrocarpus'' is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. ''Afrocarpus'' was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in ''Podocarpus'' and ''Nageia'' were reclassified. 〔 Christopher N. Page. 1989. "New and maintained genera in the conifer families Podocarpaceae and Pinaceae". ''Notes of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh'' 45(2): 377-395. 〕 Two to six species are recognized. As the name intimates, ''Afrocarpus'' is native to Africa. The species are distributed through the Afromontane forests of eastern and southern Africa, descending to the Indian Ocean coast in South Africa. ''A. gaussenii'' is native of Madagascar. The podocarps are associated with the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, where they were characteristic of the cool, moist southern Gondwana flora. Gondwana broke up into the continents of South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica between 160 and 30 million years ago. As Africa drifted north, it became hotter and drier, and the podocarps generally retreated to the cool, moist highlands of eastern and southern Africa. In South Africa, this wood is mostly used to make exclusive furniture. ==Taxonomy== ''Afrocarpus gaussenii'' was based on a single specimen of a cultivated individual of ''Afrocarpus falcatus'' in Madagascar. Its distinctive features might have resulted from the conditions of its cultivation. No species of ''Afrocarpus'' is known to be native to Madagascar. 〔 James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Timber Press: Portland, OR, USA. ISBN 978-0-88192-974-4. 〕 In a recent treatment of ''Afrocarpus'', only two species were recognized; ''A. dawei'', ''A. gracilior'', and ''A. usambarensis'' were sunk into ''A. falcatus''. The reason for this merger was that "variation across the group appears to be essentially continuous". 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Afrocarpus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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