Araucaria cunninghamii
Hoop Pine
Hoop Pine
Wikipedia links: Gymnosperms > Cupressales > Araucariaceae > Araucaria cunninghamii
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Common name: Hoop Pine
Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine
The markings on the bark, which look like hoops, give the tree its common name.
Conservation status: . . .
Etymology:
The scientific name honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s
Cones and seed:
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
Leaves:
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
Stem & branches:
The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily
Roots:
Habit:
The trees can live up to 450 years and grow to a height of 60 m
Habitat:
This tree grows in drier subtropical rainforests
Distribution:
The species is found in the dry rainforests of NSW and Queensland and in New Guinea
Additional notes:
There are two varieties:
Araucaria cunninghamii var. cunninghamii – from northeast NSW to east-central Queensland, at 0–1,000 m altitude
Araucaria cunninghamii var. papuana – 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
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
Aboriginal Australians used the resin as cement
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
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
Unspecified Microlepidoptera are significant pests of the pine cones of both
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
Although they are less interested in other trees - by many multiples - C. montrouzieri does hunt the same pests in custard apple and citrus plantations
Sources of information:
Rainforest - surviving the wet and dark, ANBG, 2022 (2023)