Araucaria cunninghamii (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D. Don

Protologue: Lambert, Pinus ed. 2, 3: t. 79 (1837).

Synonyms

• Araucaria beccarii Warb. (1900).

Vernacular names

• Hoop pine, colonial pine, Richmond river pine (En)
• Indonesia: alloa, ningwik, pien (Irian Jaya).

Distribution

Coastal regions of New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland to Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya. Large-scale plantations have been established in South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Uses

The timber is used for various purposes. The tree is cultivated as an ornamental. The seeds are edible.

Observations

• A very large, symmetrical tree up to 60(-70) m tall, bole straight, cylindrical and self-pruning up to 40 m high and up to 200 cm in diameter, leaf-bearing twigs all along the length of the branches.
• Leaves lanceolate to triangular, curved with the pointed apices directed slightly inwards, green or glaucous, juvenile leaves acicular.
• Pollen cones up to 8 cm long.
• Mature seed cone terminal, 6-10 cm × 5-8 cm, with spiny, winged cone scales.
• Seed triangular, 20-30 mm × 9-10 mm excluding the membraneous wings.

Two varieties are distinguished: var. papuana Lauterb. occurring in New Guinea, var. cunninghamii in Australia. A. cunninghamii occurs most often in submontane Fagaceae forest on leached soils up to 2750(-4000) m altitude. The density of the wood is about 530 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. See also the table on wood properties.

Selected sources

66, 105, 111, 161, 163, 205, 208, 209, 210, 285, 286, 287, 301, 326, 359, 362, 530, 577, 652, 688, 705, 748, 765, 776, 808.

Main genus page

• Araucaria

Authors

• F. Arentz (general part, selection of species)