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
  • 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
  • plant habit, young trees

    plant habit, young trees

  • plant habit, older tree

    plant habit, older tree

  • plant habit, old tree

    plant habit, old tree

  • trunk and branches

    trunk and branches

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    branches

  • branchlets

    branchlets

  • branchlets

    branchlets

  • leaves

    leaves

  • fruiting branch

    fruiting branch

  • male and female cones

    male and female cones

  • young stem

    young stem

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark

  • trunk, bark, old tree

    trunk, bark, old tree