Australian Conifers - and their southern hemisphere relations

Conifers in Australia are (mostly) of the Araucaria family. There are about 40 species in this family (in three genera) [1].

This family is now only native to the southern hemisphere, but as early as the Jurassic period there is fossil evidence of widespread distribution in Japan, England and North America [1].

Species of Araucaria (Araucaria araucana - commonly called monkeypuzzle tree) form the dominant vegetation of the coniferous forests of south-central Chile and Argentina in South America. The related New Zealand kauri pine (Agathis australis) one of the largest commercial trees in the world, sometimes reaches a height of 60m. New Zealand kauri is considered the best kauri for exposure to the weather - such as in boatbuilding - however, it is now almost impossible to obtain. One fifth of New Zealand's total land area (or about 5 million ha) is now protected - mainly alpine and high country - providing some protection for kauri and other over-logged species [1]. Follow this link to view a photo of NZ kauri [2].

The Atherton kauri (Agathis microstachya) is found only in small pockets of the Atherton Tableland at elevations of 400 to 900 m. Mature specimens (believed to be as old as 1100 years, are popular sites for tourists to the area). Fraser Island also has pockets of rainforest (3,260ha - one quarter of which is within the World-Heritage area) where Hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) and south Queensland kauri (Agathis robusta) dominate the rainforest canopy [1].

South Queensland kauri (now almost completely logged out) was used for plywood, cabinet work, furniture, indoor fittings, boat building and turning. In early homes it was also used for kitchen sinks, bench tops, cutting boards, and flooring [3].

Hoop pine has been found to be a suitable plantation species - grown in areas of northern NSW and southern Queensland.

The third Araucaria genus is Wollemia. There is only one species (known as monotypic) in this genus, the newly discovered Wollemia nobilis. (see the page on Wollemi nobilis for more).

More Online Information

For more information about conifers in Australia, including which conifers are native to Australia, follow this link to the Australian National Botanic Gardens website [4].

Next >> Australia's 'Hoop pine'

Citations

[1] Earle C.J. (Editor) (1999, March). Gymnosperm Database: Taxon Descriptions [WWW online database] ["Araucariaceae"] URL www.conifers.org/

[2] Lightbody, I. (1996). The Kauri Museum: The Kauri Tree [WWW Document] URL http://www.hmu.auckland.ac.nz:8001/gilchrist/matakohe/tanemahuta.html (visited 2001, January).

[3] Victorian Woodworkers' Association (undated). Woodlink ["SOUTH QUEENSLAND KAURI"] [WWW Document] URL http://home.vicnet.net.au/~woodlink/kauri.htm (visited January, 2001).

[4] Australian National Botanic Gardens (undated). Australian Conifers [WWW Document] URL http://www.anbg.gov.au/conifers/introduction.html (visited January, 2001).

Copyright D. L. Christiansen [Last updated February 2001] Images: respective copyright owners noted/cited.

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