Agatis tree: description with photo, distribution, varieties and species

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

One of the varieties of this giant tree is endemic to the island of New Zealand. The ancient plant, which appeared during the Jurassic period (about 150 million years ago), survived the dinosaurs, and today it is a real symbol of the state.

Without an agatis tree (photo, description and features are presented later in the article) it is difficult to imagine New Zealand. Agatis (lat. Agathis) is a genus of large trees of the Araucariaceae family with leaf-shaped needles.

Araucariaceae

This is the oldest group of coniferous plants whose geological history has been known since the end of the Permian period. Most likely, they have an even more ancient origin. They grow in the subtropical and tropical zones of the southern hemisphere of the Earth. The leaves are usually large, ovate or broadly lanceolate (occasionally almost round). Less common are needle-shaped, small. Some varieties also have green leaves on the trunk.

Features of Araucariaceae - branch fall. They shed the entire lateral shoots with leaves. All plants belonging to the genus Agatis are trees, large,sometimes reaching 70 meters in height and having an impressive trunk thickness (3 meters or more). Smaller sizes have 2 types of this plant. Agatis yellowing grows up to 12 meters in height, sometimes it is dwarf. This variety is widespread in the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula (central part). And specimens of agathis ovoid, growing in New Caledonia, very rarely reach a height of more than 9 meters.

Distribution

The agathis coniferous tree (the photo is presented in the article) can be attributed to an island genus, since its distribution area relative to only the edges of two continents (in Southeast Asia - the Malay Peninsula, in Australia - the state of Queensland) covers mainly islands. Today, about 20 varieties of this tree are known. They are common in New Zealand, Australia (in the northern part), Polynesia and Melanesia, on the islands of the Malay Archipelago, on the Malay Peninsula, as well as in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Even on the territory of Ukraine, in the sandstones of the Eocene age, a fossil species was found - Agathis armaschewskii.

Views

Below are the varieties of the genus Agatis and where they grow:

• Agathis australis - New Zealand kauri or southern agathis (North Island of New Zealand);
• Agathis alba - white agathis (Australia, Queensland);
• Agathis silbae de Laub (Island State of Melanesia - Vanuatu);
• Agathis moorei, lanceolata, ovata, montana de Laub (New Caledonia island in Melanesia);
• Agathis atropurpurea (Australia);
• Agathis borneensis Warb (Kalimantan, West Malaysia);
• Agathis dammara - Agatis dammara (Eastern Malaysia);
• Agathis flavescens, orbicula, lenticula de Laub, kinabaluensis (Kalimantan);
• Agathis macrophylla (Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands);
• Agathis robusta (New Guinea, Australia, Queensland);
• Agathis microstachya (Australia, Queensland);
• Agathis labillardierei (New Guinea Island).

General Description

Evergreen dioecious, and sometimes monoecious, are very large trees. They reach a height of 50-70 meters. Agatis is a tree with spherical cones (megastrobiles) and leathery wide flat leaves. Spreading crowns of mature trees are wide, while young plants are characterized by a conical shape. The bark is smooth, with a variety of shades, from grayish to reddish brown. It peels and flakes, leaving bare and smooth patches of wood on the branches and trunk, which makes it look rather exotic with specks.

The trunk is usually columnar, only slightly thinning towards the top. A significant part of it is devoid of lateral branches. Approximately at the level of the middle of the tree, large outstretched branches begin to appear on the trunk of the agathis, which form a spreading crown.

Features of the plant

In ancient times, agathis (or kauri) trees and coniferous species related to the family grew over a vast areaNew Zealand, occupying most of it. Their fossil remains are still found. There were times when trees were actively cut down and used in the woodworking industry. Hardened kauri resin was and is now considered a valuable material in finishing work.

It should be noted that they grow slowly, and therefore active felling (especially of the southern agatis) once led to a rapid reduction in their numbers. In addition, the change in climatic conditions that occurred about 500 years ago greatly limited the growth zone of flora representatives. It has become more difficult for a heat-loving plant to compete with fast-growing and cold-resistant trees.

Today, kauri (southern agathis) grows mainly in the warmest parts of New Zealand (the upper region of the North Island), preferring valleys and open, well-ventilated areas. It is noteworthy that young trees form quite dense thickets, but as they grow, only a few giants with wide trunks and spreading crowns remain.

Trees with names

The most famous agatis in New Zealand (photos of some of them are shown below) are given names, just like mammoth trees in California. They are labeled with names. The largest tree with its own name is Tane Mahuta (Tane-mahuta translated from Maori - "The first incarnation of Tane"). Its height is 51.5 m, the trunk circumference is 13.8 m.

Another famous tree throughout New Zealand is the kauriwith the name Te Matua Ngaere (translated as "Father of the Forest"). It is lower than the first one (29.9 meters), but has the widest trunk girth among the varieties of this tree existing today - 16.4 meters. Its age is over 2000 years. Both presented trees are located in the famous kauri park - Waipoua Forest. Several more famous agathis grow in it.

Another tree of note, native to the Coromandel Peninsula. For its unusual shape of the trunk, it received the name Square Kauri (translated as “Square Kauri”). He is 1200 years old. The tree ranks 15th in size among the vegetation of this species growing on this peninsula.

All large kauri found in New Zealand have long been the sights of the state.

Features of wood

Agatis has wood with high technological qualities. It is elastic, perfectly workable and has few branches. In this regard, the scope of its application has been and remains quite wide. The first place among agathis in terms of wood value is occupied by the southern agathis tree, which is the only species of the genus that grows in New Zealand.

Interesting is the fact that its wood is not subject to the harmful effects of grinder beetles. Thanks to this, it has conquered the world market. However, this is mostly in the past. Today's export cannot be compared with the middle of the last century, when ships were massively built from wood, and even on a larger scale.parts of New Zealand territory were then covered with southern agathis forests.

Meaning and application

Plants of the Araucariaceae family are of great practical importance. Most agathis trees have valuable wood and edible seeds. A resin similar to copal (natural fossil resin) is extracted from some species. Outside of its natural range, the plant is often bred as an ornamental.

Strong wood of the tree is used in the manufacture of various wooden products, guitars (instrument body), furniture, etc. Previously, it was widely used in shipbuilding, especially for the sailing fleet, cooperage, construction, etc.

Wood for guitar

Agathis is a coniferous plant found in considerable numbers in some countries of the Asian region. The peculiarity of wood is that its cost is low, and it is quite easy to process. In this regard, bass guitars made of agathis are relatively inexpensive instruments. Wood is valued by specialists for its good sound: the timbre is close to mahogany, which is considered expensive. The sound of such an instrument is deep and warm, but flatter and simpler.

Copal

The resin of this plant (or copal), which has lain in the ground for many years (millennia or more) takes on the appearance of amber, so it is often used to imitate it. The fact is that in the resin of the coniferous tree agatis, as well as in the mineral of organic origin (B alticamber), there are often inclusions: insects and leaves. Kauri-copala comes in almost the same colors as all varieties of B altic amber: from pale lemon yellow to reddish brown. There are also black ones.