By John Hoffman, U. C. Master Gardener

Growing right next door to the Napa County Master Gardeners' office is a bright, shiny-leaved, small evergreen tree. It is always clean and fresh, with never a brown leaf or any aphids or scale on it. This fern pine is neither a fern nor a pine but a member of an unusual family, the Podocarpaceae.

Sunset Western Garden Book lists nine species of Podocarpus native to China, Japan, South and East Africa, New Zealand and Australia. They do well in Southern California, and I have seen them in San Francisco, notably in the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. However, most of these species are subject to frost damage and unsuited for Napa Valley's winter weather. One exception is the fern pine species (P. gracilior, often sold as P. elongatus), which is rated moderately frost tolerant and suitable for Napa.

The fern pine is native to the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. In its native home, it is prized as a timber tree, growing 60 feet tall with a spread of 20 feet. In the United States, it more often grown as a shrub or container tree and seldom surpasses 20 feet.

The fern pine is easily trained as a single-trunk tree, a multi-trunked shrub or as an espalier on a fence. A row of them would make a classy, easily managed hedge. It grows slowly, so pruning is minimal. It does need good soil and summer watering.

The foliage is similar to that of the yew. It has glossy, dark-green leaves, two to four inches long and one-half inch wide, densely arranged on slender, willowy branches. The flowers are inconspicuous, and the fruits, which are seldom seen, are single-seeded and fleshy, similar to the fruits of the yew.

The fern pine has been underused in landscaping, in my opinion. It is a high-quality option for an evergreen, low-maintenance patio tree.