21-488: Agathis , commonly known as kauri or dammara , is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae , alongside Wollemia and Araucaria (being more closely related to the former). Its leaves are much broader than most conifers. Kauri gum is commercially harvested from New Zealand kauri . Mature kauri trees have characteristically large trunks, with little or no branching below
42-585: A few species of Agathis in Malesia , it was formerly widespread in the Northern Hemisphere during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Members of Araucariaceae are typically extremely tall evergreen trees, reaching heights of 60 m (200 ft) or more. They can also grow very large stem diameters; a New Zealand kauri tree ( Agathis australis ) named Tāne Mahuta ("The Lord of
63-537: Is also used for some Go boards ( goban ). The uses of the New Zealand species ( A. australis ) included shipbuilding, house construction, wood panelling, furniture making, mine braces, and railway sleepers. Due to the hard resin of the wood, it was the traditionally preferred material used by Māori for wooden weapons, patu aruhe (fernroot beaters) and barkcloth beaters. Within Araucariaceae , Agathis
84-456: Is classified under the order Pinales , class Pinopsida of the division Pinophyta . The division includes all living conifers. Recently however, some authorities treat Araucariaceae as a separate order, Araucariales . Araucariaceae contains three extant genera and about 41 species. Below is the phylogeny of the Pinophyta based on cladistic analysis of molecular data. It shows
105-454: Is known as " Oltustone ", the name deriving from the town of Oltu , where it is most commonly excavated. Despite the fact that this semiprecious gemstone is classified as “stone”, wood anatomy reveals it was fossilized pieces of trunks of Araucariacea. Oltustone, also called ‘Black Amber’ is unique to Turkey. It is dull and black, but when polished, acquires an attractive black sheen. Fossils widely believed to belong to Araucariaceae include
126-536: Is more closely related to Wollemia than to Araucaria. The oldest fossils currently confidently assignable to Agathis are those of Agathis immortalis from the Salamanca Formation of Patagonia, which dates to the Paleocene , approximately 64.67–63.49 million years ago. Agathis -like leaves are also known from the slightly older Lefipán Formation of the same region, which date to the very end of
147-501: Is usually horizontal and tiered, arising regularly in whorls of three to seven branches or alternating in widely separated pairs. The leaves can be small, needle-like, and curved, or they can be large, broadly ovate, and flattened. They are spirally arranged, persistent, and usually have parallel venation . Like other conifers, they produce cones. Each tree can have both male and female cones ( monoecious ) or they can have only male or female cones ( dioecious ). Male cones are among
168-864: The Middle Jurassic , such as Araucaria mirabilis and Araucaria sphaerocarpa from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina and England respectively. The oldest records of the Wollemia - Agathis lineage from the Cretaceous , including Emwadea microcarpa from the Albian aged Winton Formation of Australia and Wairarapaia mildenhallii from the Albian- Cenomanian of New Zealand. The oldest fossils currently confidently assignable to Agathis are those of Agathis immortalis from
189-480: The Salamanca Formation of Patagonia, which dates to the Paleocene , approximately 64.67–63.49 million years ago. Agathis -like leaves are also known from the slightly older Lefipán Formation of the same region, which date to the very end of the Cretaceous. Araucariaceae fossils are also known from the latest Oligocene or earliest Miocene of the southwesternmost tip of Africa. Claimed records of Agathis from
210-477: The form genera Araucarites (various), Agathoxylon and Araucarioxylon (wood), Brachyphyllum (leaves), Araucariacites and Dilwynites (pollen), and Protodammara (cones). The oldest definitive records of Araucariaceae are from the Early Jurassic , though there are potential earlier Late Triassic records. Early representatives of Araucaria are widespread across both hemispheres by
231-1091: The Cretaceous. Other fossils of the genus are known from the Eocene of Patagonia, the Late Paleocene- Miocene of southern Australia, and the Oligocene -Miocene of New Zealand. A. australis (Don) Lindley A. atropurpurea Hyland A. microstachya Bailey & White A. dammara (Lamb.) Richard & Richard A. robusta (Moore ex von Mueller) Bailey A. labillardieri Warburg A. borneensis Warburg A. philippinensis Warburg A. vitiensis (Seemann) Bentham & Hooker ex Drake A. macrophylla (Lindley 1851) Masters A. silbae de Laubenfels A. corbassonii de Laubenfels A. lanceolata Lindl. ex Warburg A. ovata (Moore ex Vieillard) Warburg A. moorei (Lindley) Masters A. montana de Laubenfels Moved to Nageia The placement of
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#1732798378773252-565: The Forest") has been measured at 45.2 m (148 ft) tall with a diameter at breast height of 491 cm (16.11 ft). Its total wood volume is calculated to be 516.7 m (18,250 cu ft), making it the third-largest conifer after Sequoia and Sequoiadendron (both from the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae ). The trunks are columnar and have relatively large piths with resinous cortices . The branching
273-806: The Southern Hemisphere. By far the greatest diversity is in New Caledonia (18 species), with others in Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Chile, southern Brazil, and Malesia. In Malesia, Agathis extends a short distance into the Northern Hemisphere, reaching 18°N in the Philippines. Several species are very popular ornamental trees in gardens in subtropical regions, and some are also very important timber trees, producing wood of high quality. Several have edible seeds similar to pine nuts, and others produce valuable resin and amber . In
294-456: The caterpillars of Agathiphaga , some of the most primitive of all living moths. Various species of kauri give diverse resins such as kauri gum. The timber is generally straight-grained and of fine quality with an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and rot resistance, making it ideal for yacht hull construction. The wood is commonly used in the manufacture of guitars and ukuleles due to its low density and relatively low price of production. It
315-418: The crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they achieve maturity. The bark is smooth and light grey to grey-brown, usually peeling into irregular flakes that become thicker on more mature trees. The branch structure is often horizontal or, when larger, ascending. The lowest branches often leave annular branch scars when they detach from
336-683: The forests where they occur, they are usually dominant trees, often the largest species in the forest; the largest is Araucaria hunsteinii , reported to 89 m tall in New Guinea, with several other species reaching 50–65 m tall. A. heterophylla , the Norfolk Island pine, is a well-known landscaping and house plant from this taxon. Skillful artisans in the Erzurum Province, Turkey, have used fossilized wood of Araucariaceae for centuries to manufacture jewelry and decorative items. It
357-582: The fossil species "Agathis" jurassica from the Late Jurassic of Australia in this genus is doubtful. Araucariaceae Araucariaceae is a family of conifers with three living genera , Araucaria in the Araucarioid clade and Agathis , and Wollemia in the Agathioid clade. While the family's native distribution is now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, except for
378-786: The largest among all conifer cones, on average. They are cylindrical and drooping, somewhat resembling catkins . They are borne singly on the tips of branches or the axils of leaves. They contain numerous sporophylls arranged in whorls or spirals. Each has four to 20 elongated pollen sacs attached to the lower surface at one end. The pollen grains are round and do not possess wings or air sacs. Female cones are also very large. They are spherical to ovoid in shape and borne erect on thick, short shoots at branch tips. The numerous bracts and scales are either fused to each other or separate for half of their lengths. The scales almost always bear only one seed on its upper surface, in contrast to two in true pines (family Pinaceae ). They are very large, among
399-459: The largest seeds among conifers. They are dispersed by wind, usually using wing-like structures. On maturity, the female cones detach and fall to the ground. Due to their size, they can cause serious injuries if they hit a person. The cones of the bunya bunya, Araucaria bidwillii , for example, weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb), about the size and weight of a large pineapple. They can drop from heights of 23 m (75 ft). Araucariaceae
420-633: The lower trunk. The juvenile leaves in all species are larger than the adult, more or less acute, varying among the species from ovate to lanceolate. Adult leaves are opposite, elliptical to linear , very leathery and quite thick. Young leaves are often a coppery-red, contrasting markedly with the usually green or glaucous-green foliage of the previous season. The male pollen cones appear usually only on larger trees after seed cones have appeared. The female seed cones usually develop on short lateral branchlets, maturing after two years. They are normally oval or globe shaped. Seeds of some species are attacked by
441-497: The position of Araucariaceae within the division. Pinaceae Araucariaceae Podocarpaceae Sciadopityaceae Cupressaceae Cephalotaxaceae Taxaceae Relationships between living members of Araucariaceae. Araucaria Wollemia Agathis Molecular evidence supports Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae having diverged from each other during the late Permian . Today, 41 species are known, in three genera: Agathis , Araucaria and Wollemia , distributed largely in
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