Scientific Name : Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D. Don
Common Name : Hoop Pine
Chinese Name : 南洋杉
Family : ARAUCARIACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Narrow range in New Guinea and eastern Australia, including New South Wales and Queensland. |
|---|---|
| Meanings of name | The generic name Araucaria refers to Arauco, a province of Chile where the first A. araucana (Chilean pine) was observed; Chilean pine was the first published plant in this genus. The specific epithet cunninghamii is in honour of the Australian brothers Allan and Richard Cunningham (1791-1839 and 1793-1835). They were eminent botanists in Kew herbarium and well-known with their exploration of eastern Australia. |
| Application | In respect of its soft and less-durable wood, the wood is heavily harvested in Australia to attain the demands of furniture, moulding and other light construction. In contrast to the plantation of which has expanded to 26% in Queensland’s forests, the wild population of Hoop Pine is getting restricted because of evolutionary and anthropogenic pressures. When the population keeps shrinking, it is more susceptible to bottleneck effect and genetic diversity could be dramatically reduced afterwards. As a result, more studies and conservation work are urgently required to conserve the wild Hoop Pine. |
| Identification of trees in Araucariaceae |
Unlike angiosperms, gymnosperms cannot produce glamorous flowers and fruits. Instead, their gametes are packed in pollen cones and the seeds are naked without the enclosure of pericarp. Coupled with their outwardly indistinguishable needle-like leaves, the identification work is thwarted and challengeable. Araucariaceae are broadly introduced in Hong Kong as ornamental trees by virtue of their lofty vertical dimensions. Hoop Pine, A. heterophylla (Norfolk Island Pine) and A. columnaris (Cook Pine) are the dominant introduced Araucariaceae trees in Hong Kong. The leaves of mature Araucariaceae trees are dimorphic. Those of Hoop Pine are prominent from being spiny and hook-like, while the texture of the other two are comparably gentle. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 30 m Hong Kong, and up to 70 m in its place of origin. |
| Crown | Pyramidal. |
| Stems | Bark dark greyish or greyish brown, transversely split, coarse. |
| Leaves | Leaves clustered at the apex of lateral branchlets, dimorphic. Leaves on young trees or lower branchlets of mature trees acicular or falcate. Leaves on upper or cone-bearing branchlets of mature trees ovate or triangular-ovate, densely arranged. Obvious stomatal lines adaxially, white. |
| Pollen cones | Terminal. Male cones cylindrical. Female cones globose to ovoid, relatively larger, green. |
| Seed cones | Seed cones globose to ovoid, turning from green to brown when mature. Seeds ellipsoid, with ovuliferous scale, developed from a modified lateral shoot system. |
| Flowering period | February to June in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | June to August in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website:
https://herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=9340
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China：Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D. Don
― Plants of the World Online：Araucaria cunninghamii Mudie