Agathis atropurpurea

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Common name:         Blue Kauri  

• Also, Black kauri or Purple kauri

Conservation status: IUCN: Near threatened

Queensland: Least concern

• In the state of Queensland it is officially regarded by the Department of Environment and Science (Queensland) as having no threats and is classified as least concern

• Nor is it listed in the Queensland Confidential Species list, which seeks to limit publication of location data for at-risk species

• In contrast, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the species as near-threatened (NT), citing invasive species, the existence of Phytophthora cinnamomi in part of the blue kauri's range, and climate change as potential threats to the species

• The IUCN notes, however, that no assessment of these potential threats has been conducted, and that the population of the blue kauri is currently stable

• Considering that the species is already confined to the highest peaks within its range, the threat of climate change must be considered as real and imminent

Etymology:   

Cones and seed:                            

• The male cones are cylindrical and measure up to 16 mm long by 7 mm wide, and are held on a peduncle about 2–3 mm long

• The mature female cones are green, globular, about 5 cm in diameter with up to 150 scales

• The seeds are tan in colour, around 12 mm long with wings up to 15 mm wide

Leaves:         

• The leaves are opposite and distichous, held on very short petioles measuring 1–2 mm long.

• They are lanceolate to elliptic with fine longitudinal veins, and measure up to 7 by 2 cm 

Stem & branches: 

• The trunk is cylindrical and very straight

• A smooth to flaky bark that is mottled with dark blue, purple, and almost black patches

• In very large trees the bark is brown and it may then be confused with the bull kauri, Agathis microstachya, a species that is both genetically and geographically related

• Eeven large specimens of the blue kauri will usually have some dark patches that enable a positive identification

• The branches are more or less horizontal, and the leaf-bearing twigs are pendant

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A large rainforest emergent tree growing up to 50 m in height & a diameter of up to 2 m

Habitat:   

• It favours granite and rhyolite soils

• It is confined specifically to the cloudy, high altitude, simple microphyll vine-fern forests that occur on the granite massifs north and south of Cairns

• These are areas of high rainfall—more than 2,000 mm p.a.—at elevations from 700 m to 1,600 m

• It is often associated with species such as Balanops australiana, Ceratopetalum succirubrum, Ceratopetalum virchowii, Doryphora aromatics, Elaeocarpus ferruginiflorus, Flindersia bourjotiana, Syzygium cryptophlebia, Sundacarpus amarus, Trochocarpa bellendenkerensis, Uromyrtus species, and Xanthostemon pubescens

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to a small part of northeastern Queensland

• The range of Agathis atropurpurea is confined to a number of small fragmented populations within the Wet Tropics of Queensland

• Include places such as Mount Pieter Botte, Mount Lewis National Park, the Lamb Range, the Bellenden Ker Range, and the high ranges of the western Atherton Tablelands

Additional notes:    

• Taxonomy

  • This species was first described by the Australian botanist Bernard Hyland, using specimens he collected from the Bellenden Ker Range in 1972

  • His paper, titled "A revision of the genus Agathis (Araucariaceae) in Australia", was published in 1978 in the journal Brunonia, which is now known as Australian Systematic Botany