Araucaria bidwillii
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Araucariaceae Genus: Araucaria Species: A. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The Order Pinales in the Division Pinophyta, Class Pinopsida comprises all the extant Conifers This order was formerly known as the The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of Conifers They achieved maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods when they existed almost Araucaria is a Genus of Evergreen coniferous Trees in the family Araucariaceae. bidwillii
Binomial name
Araucaria bidwillii (Molina) K. Koch

Araucaria bidwillii is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the genus Araucaria, family Araucariaceae. Karl Heinrich Emil Koch (1809 - 1879 was a German Botanist. He was born in Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Araucaria is a Genus of Evergreen coniferous Trees in the family Araucariaceae. The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of Conifers They achieved maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods when they existed almost It is native to south-east Queensland with two small disjunct populations in northern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics, and many fine old specimens planted in New South Wales. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent It can grow up to 50 m.

The bunya pine (A. bidwillii) is the last surviving species of the Section Bunya of the genus Araucaria. This section was diverse and widespread during the Mesozoic with some species having cone morphology similar to A. The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. bidwillii, which appeared during the Jurassic. The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning Fossils of Section Bunya are found in South America and Europe. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system.

Distribution

A. bidwillii has a limited distribution within Australia and, part of the reason for the remnant sites, was the drying out of Australia with loss of rainforest and poor seed dispersal. The remnant sites at the Bunya Mountains, Jimna area and at Mt Lewis in Queensland have genetic diversity at these scattered sites. The cones are large, soft-shelled and nutritious and fall intact to the ground beneath the tree before dehiscing. The possibility of past larger animal as vectors since the Jurassic, such as dinosaurs and large mammals should be considered, but is obviously unprovable for the bunya.

Ecology

Although there are no reported dispersal agents for the seeds of A. bidwillii, macropods and various species of rats are know as predators of the seeds and tubers. It was observed the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) was caching bunya seeds a limited distances uphill from parent trees, possibly allowing ridge-top germination. Brushtail possums (Trichosurus spp. ) were mentioned as carrying the seeds up trees. From a study in 2006, the short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus) was shown to disperse the seed of A. bidwillii.

A. bidwillii has unusual cryptogeal seed germination in which the seeds develop to form an underground tuber from which the aerial shoot later emerges. The actual emergence of the seed is then known to occur over several years presumably as a strategy to allow the seedlings to emerge under optimum climatic conditions or, it has been suggested, to avoid fire. This erratic germination has been one of the main problems in silviculture of the species.

Natural populations of this species have been reduced in extent and abundance through exploitation for its timber, the construction of a dam and historical clearing. Most populations are now protected in formal reserves and national parks.

The fruit of Bunya, commonly known as the Bunya nut.

The cones are 20-35 cm in diameter, and disintegrate when mature to release the large (3-4 cm) seeds. A cone (in formal botanical usage Strobilus, plural strobili is an organ on Plants in the division Pinophyta ( Conifers A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored

Cultural significance

A. bidwillii was a sacred tree for the Aboriginal people. The vernacular name is Bunya, Bonye, Bunyi or Bunya-bunya, from various tribes or European variations of the Australian Aboriginal name for the tree; it is also often called Bunya Pine (though this is inaccurate as it is not a pine). This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law This article is about the tree For other uses of the term "pine" see Pine (disambiguation. It is also commonly referred to as the False Monkey Puzzle, despite its obvious physical differences from the Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). Araucaria araucana ( Pehuén or Monkey-puzzle) is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. The seeds are edible, and are similar to pine nuts, and have been an important food resource for Australian Aboriginal people; groves of the trees were often under particular tribal ownership. Pine nuts are the edible Seeds of Pines (family Pinaceae, genus Pinus) They are eaten both raw and cooked. Traditionally they were also ground and made into a paste, which was eaten directly or cooked in hot coals to make bread. Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the Bread made by Australian Aborigines for many thousands of years

Cultivation

A pair of Bunya seedlings showing the change in leaf colour. The cotyledons are hypogeal, remaining below the ground. A cotyledon ("seed leaf" from Greek: κοτυληδών kotylēdōn, from κοτύλη ''kotýlē'', "cup bowl" Hypogeal means "underground" In Botany, a Seed is described as hypogeal when the Cotyledons of the germinating

Bunya nuts are slow to germinate. A set of 12 seeds sown in Melbourne took on average about six months to germinate (with the first germinating in 3 months) and only developed roots after 1 year. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 The first leaves form a rosette and are dark brown. The leaves only turn green once the first stem branch occurs. Unlike the mature leaves, the young leaves are relatively soft. As the leaves age they become very hard and sharp.

Once established Bunyas are quite hardy and can be grown as far south as Hobart in Australia (42° S) and Christchurch in New Zealand (43° S)^[1] and as north as Sacramento in California (38° N)^[2]. Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

References

External links

• Gymnosperm Database: Araucaria bidwillii
• [1]