Agathis spathulata

Agathis spathulata, the New Guinea kauri, is a species of Agathis native to the highlands of eastern Papua New Guinea, occurring at altitudes of 900–1980 m. Although long known, it has only relatively recently (1980) been distinguished from Agathis robusta, being described first as a subspecies of it, Agathis robusta subsp. nesophila Whitm., and subsequently separated as a distinct species Agathis spathulata in 1988. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Agathis spathulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Agathis
Species:
A. spathulata
Binomial name
Agathis spathulata
de Laub.

It is a large evergreen tree growing up to 60 m tall. The leaves are in decussate opposite pairs, 7–10 cm long and 18–30 mm broad on mature trees, up to 13 cm long and 45 mm broad on young trees. The cones are oval, 8.5–10 cm long and 6.5-7.5 cm diameter, and disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds.

References

  1. Conifer Specialist Group 1998. Agathis spathulata. Downloaded on 10 July 2007.
  • de Laubenfels, D. J. (1988). Coniferales. In van Steenis & de Wilde (eds.), Flora Malesiana 10: 337–453.
  • Whitmore, T. C. (1980). "A monograph of Agathis". Pl. Syst. Evol. 135 (1–2): 41–69. doi:10.1007/BF00983006. S2CID 20722095.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.