Everything about Huon Pine totally explained
The species
Lagarostrobos franklinii is a species of
conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of
Tasmania,
Australia; it's the sole species in
Lagarostrobos; one other species
L. colensoi formerly included has been transferred to a new genus
Manoao. The genus was also formerly included in a broader circumscription of the genus
Dacrydium.
Lagarostrobos franklinii is often known as the
Huon Pine or
Macquarie Pine, confusing names as it's a
podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a
pine (Pinaceae).
It is a slow growing, but long-lived
tree; some living specimens of this tree are in excess of
2000 years in age. It grows to 10 to 20 m tall, exceptionally reaching 30 m, with arching branches and pendulous branchlets. The
leaves are spirally arranged, very small and scale-like, 1 to 3 mm long, covering the shoots completely. It is
dioecious, with male (
pollen) and female (
seed)
cones on separate plants. The male cones are yellow, 5 to 8 mm long and 1 to 2 mm broad. The mature seed cones are highly modified,
berry-like, with 5 to 10 lax, open scales which mature in 6-8 months, with one seed 2 to 2.5 mm long on each scale. Unlike the closely related
New Zealand genus
Manoao, the scales don't become fleshy and are
water-dispersed, not
bird-dispersed (Molloy 1995).
A stand of trees reputed to be in excess of 10,500 years in age was recently found in North Western Tasmania on
Mount Read. Each of the trees in this stand is a genetically identical male that has
reproduced vegetatively. Although no single tree in this stand is of that age, the stand itself as a single organism has existed that long.
The
wood was highly prized for its golden yellow colour, fine grain and natural oils that resisted rotting. The chemical that gives the timber its unique smell and preservative qualities is
methyl eugenol. Heavy
logging of the trees for its fine timber coupled with the trees' slow growth has led to remaining stands being less than 105 square
kilometres (26,000
acres). The remaining stands of this species of tree now has protected status within the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.
References and external links
Further Information
Get more info on 'Huon Pine'.
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