Araucaria cunninghamii
Common name:
Hoop Pine
Moreton Bay Pine
Pronunciation:
a-row-KAH-ree-a kun-ing-HAM-i-e
Family:
Araucariaceae
Genus:
Type:
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Conifer, evergreen tree, to 150-200 ft (~45-60 m) high, very slow growing, branches in whorls of 4-7, upper ones ascending. Bark rough, peeling of in thin layers, under bark red or brown. Leaves spirally arranged (occurring singly at a node and arranged spirally up the branchlet), lanceolate or triangular, about 1 cm long, stiff, margin entire, sharp-pointed (very prickly); shorter on fertile branches (much less prickly) and incurved. Flowers unisexual; male flowers in "cones" 2-5 cm long; seed ( female) cones ovate, erect, symmetrical, about 10 cm long and 7 cm wide; trees very old, as much as 200 years, before they produce cones.
- Sun
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Hardy to USDA Zone (9)10 (subtropical and tropical) Native to the tropical and subtropical rainforests of northwestern Australia (New South Wales and Queensland) and New Guinea. Two varieties are recognized:
- Araucaria cunninghamii var. cunninghamii - Australian form.
- Araucaria cunninghamii var. papuana - found in the mountains of Papua New Guinea; branches less ascending and cones larger than above.
- Hoop Pine: rough-barked trunk with circular "hoop" markings which give rise to the common name.
- cunninghamii: in honor of Alan Cunningham, 1791 - 1839, botanist and explorer.
- Specimen shown here growing in New Zealand and at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Arboretum, USDA Hardiness Zone 9.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, young trees
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plant habit, older tree
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plant habit, old tree
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trunk and branches
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branches
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branchlets
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branchlets
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leaves
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fruiting branch
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male and female cones
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young stem
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trunk, bark
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trunk, bark, old tree
