Agathis Temporal range: Paleocene to recent | |
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Agathis robusta Eastern Australia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Araucariales |
Family: | Araucariaceae |
Genus: | Agathis Salisb. 1807 |
Type species | |
Agathis loranthifolia Salisb. 1807 | |
Distribution of Agathis species | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside Wollemia and Araucaria (being more closely related to the former as Agathis and Wollemia are both in the clade Agathioid). [1] [2] Its leaves are much broader than most conifers. Kauri gum is commercially harvested from New Zealand kauri.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2021) |
Mature kauri trees have characteristically large trunks, with little or no branching below the crown. In contrast, young trees are normally conical in shape, forming a more rounded or irregularly shaped crown as they achieve maturity. [3]
The bark is smooth and light grey to grey-brown, usually peeling into irregular flakes that become thicker on more mature trees. The branch structure is often horizontal or, when larger, ascending. The lowest branches often leave annular branch scars when they detach from the lower trunk.
The juvenile leaves in all species are larger than the adult, more or less acute, varying among the species from ovate to lanceolate. Adult leaves are opposite, elliptical to linear, very leathery and quite thick. Young leaves are often a coppery-red, contrasting markedly with the usually green or glaucous-green foliage of the previous season.
The male pollen cones appear usually only on larger trees after seed cones have appeared. The female seed cones usually develop on short lateral branchlets, maturing after two years. They are normally oval or globe shaped.
Seeds of some species are attacked by the caterpillars of Agathiphaga , some of the most primitive of all living moths.
Various species of kauri give diverse resins such as kauri gum. The timber is generally straight-grained and of fine quality with an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and rot resistance, making it ideal for yacht hull construction. The wood is commonly used in the manufacture of guitars and ukuleles due to its low density and relatively low price of production. It is also used for some Go boards (goban). The uses of the New Zealand species (A. australis) included shipbuilding, house construction, wood panelling, furniture making, mine braces, and railway sleepers. Due to the hard resin of the wood, it was the traditionally preferred material used by Māori for wooden weapons, patu aruhe (fernroot beaters) and barkcloth beaters. [4]
Within Araucariaceae, Agathis is more closely related to Wollemia than to Araucaria. The oldest fossils currently confidently assignable to Agathis are those of Agathis immortalis from the Salamanca Formation of Patagonia, which dates to the Paleocene, approximately 64.67–63.49 million years ago. Agathis-like leaves are also known from the slightly older Lefipán Formation of the same region, which date to the very end of the Cretaceous. [5] Other fossils of the genus are known from the Eocene of Patagonia, the Late Paleocene-Miocene of southern Australia, and the Oligocene-Miocene of New Zealand. [6] Agathis-like remains are also found in the older Bahariya Formation of Egypt.
Phylogeny of Agathis [7] [8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
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Agathis atropurpurea | black kauri, blue kauri | Queensland, Australia | |
Agathis australis | New Zealand kauri | North Island, New Zealand | |
Agathis borneensis | Borneo kauri | western Malesia, Borneo | |
Agathis dammara | Sulawesi kauri | Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku Islands | |
Agathis flavescens | Tahan Agathis | Peninsular Malaysia | |
Agathis kinabaluensis | Kinabalu kauri | Borneo | |
Agathis labillardieri | New Guinea kauri | New Guinea | |
Agathis lanceolata | Koghi kauri | New Caledonia | |
Agathis lenticula | Sabah kauri | Borneo | |
Agathis macrophylla (syn. A. vitiensis) | Pacific kauri, dakua | Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands | |
Agathis microstachya | bull kauri | Queensland, Australia | |
Agathis montana | New Caledonia | ||
Agathis moorei | white kauri | New Caledonia | |
Agathis orbicula | Sarawak kauri | Borneo | |
Agathis ovata | Scrub kauri | New Caledonia | |
Agathis robusta | Queensland kauri | Queensland, Australia; Papua New Guinea | |
Agathis robusta subsp. robusta | Queensland and Papua New Guinea | ||
Agathis robusta subsp. nesophila | New Guinea kauri | Papua New Guinea | |
Agathis silbae | Vanuatu | ||
Agathis zamunerae | Patagonia, South America Argentina | ||
Moved to Nageia
The placement of the fossil species "Agathis" jurassica from the Late Jurassic of Australia in this genus is doubtful. [9]
Agathis australis, or kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae, found north of 38°S in the northern regions of New Zealand's North Island.
Araucariaceae – also known as Araucarians – is a family of coniferous trees, with three living genera, Araucaria, Agathis, and Wollemia. While the family was a common component of the flora globally during the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene periods, in their native distribution they are now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, except for a few species of Agathis in Malesia.
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος, literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds. The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or on their own as in yew, Torreya, Ginkgo. The life cycle of a gymnosperm involves alternation of generations, with a dominant diploid sporophyte phase, and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase, which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. The term "gymnosperm" is often used in paleobotany to refer to all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.
Wollemia is a genus of coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae, endemic to Australia. It represents only one of three living genera in the family, alongside Araucaria and Agathis. The genus only has a single known species, Wollemia nobilis, also known as the Wollemi Pine or Wollemi Kauri Pine, which was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales. It was growing in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided, sandstone gorges 150 km (93 mi) north-west of Sydney. The genus is named after the National Park. Wollemia is part of the Agathioid clade of the Araucariaceae, closely related to Agathis.
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic, Cretaceous they were dominant conifers. There are 20 extant species in New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
Chamaecyparis, common names cypress or false cypress, is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia and to the western and eastern margins of the United States. The name is derived from the Greek khamai (χαμαί), meaning "on the earth", and kuparissos (κυπάρισσος) for "cypress".
Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς + καρπός. Podocarpus species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from 1 to 25 m tall, known to reach 40 m (130 ft) at times. The cones have two to five fused cone scales, which form a fleshy, berry-like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract birds, which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. About 97 to 107 species are placed in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species.
Nageia is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. Nageia includes evergreen shrubs and trees, from one to 54 meters in height. A 2009 treatment of the genus recognized five species. Some authors consider Nageia formosensis to be a separate species from Nageia nagi, thus recognizing six species. The podocarp genera have been reshuffled by various botanists. Most recently, several species formerly classed as Nageia were moved to the new genus Retrophyllum, while Nageia falcata and Nageia mannii were moved to the new genus Afrocarpus.
Afrocarpus is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. Two to six species are recognized. They are evergreen trees native to Africa. Afrocarpus was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in Podocarpus and Nageia were reclassified.
Prumnopitys is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. The nine recognized species of Prumnopitys are densely branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height.
Tāne Mahuta, also called "God of the Forest", is a giant kauri tree in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region, New Zealand. Its age is unknown but is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years. It is the largest living kauri tree known to stand today. It is named after Tāne, the Māori god of forests and of birds.
The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, part of the Australasian realm.
Agathis robusta, commonly known as Dundathu pine, kauri pine, Queensland kauri (pine), Australian kauri (pine) or smooth-barked kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Although sometimes called a pine it is not a true pine, having leaves rather than needles. It has a disjunct distribution, occurring in eastern New Guinea and New Britain in Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.
Athrotaxis is a genus of two to three species of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high-elevation temperate rainforests.
Retrophyllum is a genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae. It contains five generally recognized extant species with a disjunct distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, found in Papuasia and also in South America. Retrophyllum are evergreen trees typically occurring in tropical rainforests and cloud forests.
Agathis atropurpurea, commonly known as the blue kauri, and occasionally as the black kauri or purple kauri, is a species of conifer in the very ancient plant family Araucariaceae. The family was distributed almost worldwide during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but is now mostly confined to the Southern Hemisphere. This species is endemic to a small part of northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Agathis ovata, the mountain kauri, is a species of conifer, genus Agathis in the family Araucariaceae. It is found only on the southwest Pacific island of New Caledonia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Araucaria mirabilis is an extinct species of coniferous tree from Patagonia, Argentina. It belongs to the genus Araucaria.
Araucaria haastii is an extinct species of conifer tree formerly native to New Zealand. A large number of fossilised tree specimens from the family Araucariaceae have been found in New Zealand, but in many cases the level of preservation is not sufficient to reliably distinguish between Araucaria species and Agathis species.
Araucarioides is an extinct genus of conifer belonging to the family Araucariaceae. The type species Araucarioides linearis is known from the Early Eocene of Tasmania, with fossils including isolated leaves, parts of the conifer cone, as well as possible seeds, associated with Dilwynites tuberculatus pollen. Another species only known from leaves, Araucarioides falcata is known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of New Zealand. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Araucarioides linearis is closely related to both Agathis and Wollemia rather than to Araucaria.
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