Araucaria cunninghamii
Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine,[3] Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine.[1] The scientific name honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s.
| Araucaria cunninghamii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| (unranked): | Gymnosperms |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Araucariaceae |
| Genus: | Araucaria |
| Section: | A. sect. Eutacta |
| Species: | A. cunninghamii |
| Binomial name | |
| Araucaria cunninghamii | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Habitat
The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years and grow to a height of 60 metres.[4] The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily.[5]
Description
The leaves on young trees are awl-shaped, 1–2 cm long, about 2 mm thick at the base, and scale-like, incurved, 1–2 cm long and 4 mm broad on mature trees. The cones are ovoid, 8–10 cm long and 6–8 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds.
Subspecies
There are two varieties:
- Araucaria cunninghamii var. cunninghamii – Australia, from northeast New South Wales to east-central Queensland, at 0–1,000 m altitude.
- Araucaria cunninghamii var. papuana – New Guinea, on the mountains of Papua New Guinea, and in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, at 100–2,700 m altitude.
Cultivation and other uses
The wood is a high-quality timber that is particularly important to the plywood industry and also used for furniture, veneer, joinery, panelling, particle board, flooring and boats.[6] Most natural stands in Australia and Papua New Guinea have been depleted by logging. It is now mainly found on timber plantations; however, the species continues to thrive in protected areas, including Lamington National Park where at least one walking track is named after it.[7]
Aboriginal Australians used the resin as cement.[8]
Pests
The plantations in Queensland have been subject to damage by a native rat species, Rattus tunneyi, which digs to the roots of a semi-mature tree and kills it, the animal was declared a pest for this reason.[9] The vulnerability of A. cunninghamii plantations to pest losses has caused some of them to be replaced by A. hunsteinii which suffers less in plantation.[10] Unspecified Microlepidoptera are significant pests of the pine cones of both.[Gressitt 1982 1]
Biological control
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is a coccinellid predator of mealybug and soft scale insect parasites of A. cunninghamii, and has several characteristics that make it a good biocontrol for use in plantations.[11] Although they are less interested in other trees - by many multiples - C. montrouzieri does hunt the same pests in custard apple and citrus plantations.[11]
Gallery
Hoop Pine in Prospect Reservoir in Sydney
The banded bark of Araucaria cunninghamii
References
- Thomas, P. (2011). "Araucaria cunninghamii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T32835A9734286. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T32835A9734286.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- "Araucaria cunninghamii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- "Hoop Pine". Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- "Hoop Pine". about NSW. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Species: Araucaria cunninghamii (Hoop Pine)". Plantation Information Network. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Hoop Pine". Australian Timber Database. Timber.net.au. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "Nature, culture and history". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- Corlett, Eloise. "An Evolution Of Ethnobotany". ByronBayNow. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- Baverstock, P.R. (1983). "Pale Field Rat Rattus Tunneyi". In Strahan, R. (ed.). Complete book of Australian mammals. The national photographic index of Australian wildlife (1 ed.). London: Angus & Robertson. p. 451. ISBN 0207144540.
- Wylie, F. R. (1982). "Insect problems of Araucaria plantations in Papua New Guinea and Australia". Australian Forestry. Taylor & Francis (Informa UK Limited). 45 (2): 125–131. doi:10.1080/00049158.1982.10674343. ISSN 0004-9158.
- Finlay-Doney, M.; Walter, G.H. (2012). "Behavioral responses to specific prey and host plant species by a generalist predatory coccinellid (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant)". Biological Control. Elsevier BV. 63 (3): 270–278. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2012.09.004. ISSN 1049-9644.
- Gressitt, J. L., ed. (1982). Biogeography and Ecology of New Guinea. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 42. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. p. 390. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-8632-9. ISBN 978-94-009-8634-3. ISSN 0077-0639. S2CID 26922762.
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p. 391, 4.5. Insect pests of Araucaria species in New Guinea
- A number of as yet unidentified members of the Microlepidoptera also cause much wastage in cones of A. cunninghamii and A. hunsteinii."