That's for the most part true, but some of the higher mountains of South Africa see temperatures as cold as -4°F(-20°C) and lowland areas of Southern Chile and Argentina get as cold as -20°F(-28.9°C).(the record low for Argentina is -27°F(-32.8°C) at an altitude of about 900'(274m) and only about 75 miles(121km) from the ocean). Also, there are large areas of the Andes which get as cold as many parts of North America, but they don't get as hot in the summer, like resin said, and they don't have virtually any native woody plants growing. These areas are dominated by grasses and other herbaceous stuff. I also know that some of the mountains of Australia have seen temps as low as about 0°F to +5°F(-17.8°C to -15°C)(the record low being -8°F(22.2°C) in Charlotte Pass at an altitude of about 6,000'(1829m)), but I'm not sure about New Zealand. I'd think that some Australian, South African, or perhaps some South American(less likely) conifer might be both heat and somewhat cold hardy. Several herbaceous species from these areas are both(mostly from South Africa, rather than Australia though).

Indeed, this is currently the most promising Phyllocladus species for the Southeast because it has made it through one full Miami summer without problems. As pineresin says, it is slow. However, it is considered the fastest of the Phyllocladus in NZ, but that's still not very fast by other standards. It is a lower elevation plant in New Zealand (in contrast to P. alpinus) extending down to sea level, and is supposed to be able to take full son or some shade. Winds near the coast can be intense in NZ, so I wouldn't say it requires cloudforest conditions. There are large luxuriant specimens in full sun at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, but they are well irrigated. I would say it is root rot resistant since it can survive hot humid southeastern summers. However, so far the best of the NZ conifers for hot humid climates is Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, which doesn't seem to mind the heat and humidity at all.

I wouldn't expect this to grow there, I'm finding it delicate even in cool and mild western WA. However, there IS one in the Seattle arboretum, about 7 ft. tall that has been there for years.

All of your plants look awesome. Did you grow those from seed, cuttings, or seedlings? I'm currently in the process of trying to grow Sciadoptys verticillata and Microstrobos niphophilus from seed. It will be a long time before they look like those, if they ever do. I'm also looking for seeds of Amentotaxus argotaenia (or any species of Amentotaxus), Phyllocladus alpinus, and Thujopsis dolabrata. Do you happen to know where I might find them?