Podocarpus (; from the Greek, podos, meaning "foot", and karpos, meaning "fruit") is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees usually from 1 to 25 meters tall, known to reach 40 meters at times. The leaves are 0.5 to 15 cm long, lanceolate to oblong or falcate (sickle-shaped) in some species, with a distinct midrib. They are arranged spirally, though in some species twisted to appear in two horizontal ranks. The cones have two to five fused scales, of which only one, rarely two, are fertile, each fertile scale has one apical seed. At maturity, the scales become berry-like, swollen, brightly coloured red to purple and fleshy, and are eaten by birds which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. The male (pollen) cones are 5 to 20 mm long, often clustered several together. Many species, though not all, are dioecious. There are approximately 104 to 107 species in the genus.