One of the varieties of this giant tree is endemic to the island of New Zealand. Appeared in the time of the Jurassic period (about 150 million years ago), an ancient plant survived dinosaurs, and today it is a real symbol of the state.
Without agatis tree (photo, description and its features are presented later in the article) it is difficult to imagine New Zealand. Agatis (lat. Agathis) - a genus of large trees of the Araucaria family, with leaf-like needles.
Araucaria family
This is the oldest group of conifers, the geological history of which has been known since the end of the Permian period. Most likely, they have an even more ancient origin. They grow in the subtropical and tropical zones of the southern hemisphere of the Earth. The leaves are usually large, ovoid or broadly lanceolate (occasionally almost rounded). Less common are needle, small. Some species also have green leaves on the trunk.
Features of the Araukariyevs - branch fall. They completely drop side shoots with leaves. All plants belonging to the genus Agatis are trees, large, sometimes reaching 70 meters in height and having an impressive trunk thickness (3 meters or more). Smaller sizes have 2 species of this plant. Yellowing agatis grows up to 12 meters in height, sometimes it happens to be dwarf. This variety is widespread in the rain forests of the Malacca Peninsula (central part). And specimens of ovoid agatis, growing in New Caledonia, very rarely reach a height of more than 9 meters.
Spread
Agatis conifer (photo presented in the article) can be attributed to the island genus, since its distribution area relative to only the edges of two continents (in Southeast Asia - the Malacca Peninsula, in Australia - Queensland) mainly covers the islands. Today, about 20 varieties of this tree are known. They are common in New Zealand, Australia (in the northern part), Polynesia and Melanesia, on the islands of the Malay archipelago, on the Malay Peninsula, as well as in New Guinea and the Philippines.
Even on the territory of Ukraine, a fossil species, Agathis armaschewskii, was found in sandstones of the Eocene age.
Kinds
Below are the varieties of the genus Agatis and their places of growth:
- Agathis australis - kauri New Zealand or southern agatis (North Island of New Zealand);
- Agathis alba - white agatis (Australia, Queensland);
- Agathis silbae de Laub (island state of Melanesia - Vanuatu);
- Agathis moorei, lanceolata, ovata, montana de Laub (New Caledonia island in Melanesia);
- Agathis atropurpurea (Australia);
- Agathis borneensis Warb (Kalimantan, Western Malaysia);
- Agathis dammara - Agathis dammara (eastern Malaysia);
- Agathis flavescens, orbicula, lenticula de Laub, kinabaluensis (Kalimantan island);
- Agathis macrophylla (Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands);
- Agathis robusta (New Guinea, Australia, Queensland) ;
- Agathis microstachya (Australia, Queensland);
- Agathis labillardierei (New Guinea Island).
general description
Evergreen dioecious, and sometimes monoecious, are very large trees. They reach a height of 50-70 meters. Agatis is a tree with spherical cones (megastrobils) and leathery broad flat leaves. The sprawling crowns of the growing trees are wide, and for young plants a conical shape is characteristic. The bark is smooth, with a variety of shades, from grayish to reddish brown. It peels off and exfoliates, leaving bare and smooth patches of wood on the branches and trunk, making it look quite exotic with specks.
The trunk is usually columnar, only slightly thinning towards the apex. A significant part of it is devoid of lateral branches. Approximately at the level of the middle of the tree, large open branches begin to appear on the agatis trunk, which form a spreading crown.
Plant features
In ancient times, agathis trees (or kauri) and coniferous species related to the family grew on the vast territory of New Zealand, occupying most of it. They still find their fossil remains. There were times when trees were actively cut down and used in the woodworking industry. The hardened kauri resin was considered and is now considered a valuable material in the finishing work.
It should be noted that they grow slowly, in connection with which the active felling (especially of southern agatis) once led to a rapid reduction in their numbers. In addition, the change in climatic conditions that occurred about 500 years ago greatly limited the area of growth of flora representatives. It has become more difficult for a heat-loving plant to compete with fast-growing and cold-resistant trees.
Today, kauri (southern agatis) grows mainly in the warmest parts of New Zealand (the upper region of the North Island), preferring valleys and open, well-ventilated areas. It is noteworthy that young trees form quite dense thickets, however, as they grow, only a few giants with wide trunks and spreading crowns remain.
Trees with names
The most famous agathis in New Zealand (photos of some of them are shown below) are given names, just like in California mammoth trees. Nameplates are attached to them. The largest tree with its own name is Tane Mahuta (Tane-mahuta translated from Maori - "The first incarnation of Tane"). Its height is 51.5 m, the circumference of the trunk is 13.8 m.
Another tree celebrated throughout New Zealand is a kauri named Te Matua Ngaere (translated as “Father of the Forest”). It is lower than the first (29.9 meters), but has the widest girth of the trunk among the varieties of this tree that exist today - 16.4 meters. His age is more than 2000 years. Both presented trees are located in the famous kauri park - Waipoua Forest. Several well-known agathis grow in it.
It is worth noting another tree growing on the Coromandel Peninsula. For its unusual shape of the trunk, it was called Square Kauri (translated as "Square Kauri"). He is 1200 years old. The tree takes the 15th place in size among the vegetation of this species growing on this peninsula.
All the large kauri found in New Zealand have long been state attractions.
Wood features
Agatis has wood with high technological qualities. It is flexible, perfectly machinable and has few knots. In this regard, the scope of its application has been and remains quite wide. The first place among agatis in the value of wood is occupied by the southern agatis tree, which is the only species of the genus that grows in New Zealand.
An interesting fact is that its wood is not exposed to the harmful effects of beetle grinders. It is thanks to this that she has conquered the world market. However, this is more in the past. Today's export can not be compared with the middle of the last century, when ships were massively built from wood, and in most of New Zealand then forests from southern agatis grew.
Meaning and Application
Plants of the Araucaria family are of no small practical importance. Most agatis trees have valuable wood and edible seeds. Resin similar to copal (natural fossil resin) is mined from some species. Outside the natural range, the plant is often bred as an ornamental.
Strong wood is used in the manufacture of various wooden products, guitars (tool case), furniture, etc. Before, it was widely used in shipbuilding, especially for the sailing fleet, in cooper production, construction, etc.
Tree for guitar
Agatis is a coniferous plant found in considerable quantities in some countries of the Asian region. The peculiarity of wood is that its cost is low, and it is quite easy to process. In this regard, agathis bass guitars are relatively inexpensive instruments. Specialists, on the other hand, value wood for its good sound: the timbre is close to mahogany, which is considered expensive. The sound of such an instrument is deep and warm, but flatter and simpler.
Digging
The resin of this plant (or digging), lying in the ground for many years (millennia or more) takes the form of amber, so it is often used to imitate it. The fact is that in the resin of coniferous wood of agatis, as well as in a mineral of organic origin (Baltic amber), there are often inclusions: insects and leaves. Kauri-digging is almost the same color as all varieties of Baltic amber: from pale yellow-lemon to reddish-brown. Black is also found.