Gymnosperms

Scientific Name: Araucaria bidwillii

Common Name/s: Bunya Pine
Description:

A large, erect conifer, 30-50 m high x 10-20 m wide.

It is hardy to zone (UK) 9. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in

flower in June, and the seeds ripen from Sep to
October. The flowers are monoecious (individual
flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can
be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by
Wind.

Crown pyramidal in younger trees, becoming conspicously dome-shaped in the mature

tree, the outline of the crown defined by dense tufts of branchlets and foliage at the
branch ends.

As with most other Araucarias, the branches are produced from regular whorls.

The bark is dark brown to black, flaking in scales up to 2.5 7.5 cm, on mature trees
usually 5-10 cm thick and deeply furrowed.

Leaves differ between juvenile and mature trees. Those of juvenile trees (or perhaps,
simply leaves produced in the shade of the forest understory) are glossy, light-green,
narrow, 2.5--5 cm long, and stiff with a sharp point. They are arranged in two rows on the
branchlets. Leaves of mature trees (leaves produced in the crown and exposed to the sun)
are arrayed radially around the branchlet (and often are overlapping), spreading, glossy,
dark-green, 0.7-2.8 cm long, lanceolate or triangular-ovate, flattened, coriaceous, lacking
a midvein but with numerous, parallel, thin veins; stomatal lines are abaxial.

The Pollen cones, usually appearing in April and maturing in September or October, are
are up to 20 cm long, axillary, solitary, cylindric, produced on the ends of short lateral
branches.
Seed cones are produced between December and March about 17 months after
pollination.
Habit: Araucaria bidwillii shows a classic conical growing habit
Habitat: Restricted to two areas in Queensland, Australia that are separated by over 1,000 km.
The EOO is approximately 11,000 km2; 99% of this is in southeastern Queensland as the two
northern localities (Mt Lewis and Cannabullen Falls) are very limited in their extent.

Phenology: Dry Season, Sub-tropical

http://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_bidwillii.php