A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Araucaria hunsteinii
The Klinki Pine is a species of Araucaria native to the highlands of Papua New Guinea. It is an evergreen tree (the tallest in PNG, and the tallest species in its family), growing to 50–80 m tall, exceptionally to 90 m, with a trunk up to 3 m diameter. Due to habitat loss, It is an endangered species and is on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
This specimen was spotted in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens, Mt. Coot-Tha. Queensland's tropical climate suits them well.
I am amazed at the resemblance Klinki Pines bear to the Australian Araucaria species - the Hoop and Bunya Pines. It shares the very strong characteristics of both species, and looks like a cross between both (the bark of the Hoop, and the leaves of the Bunya). Australia and PNG have been connected land masses during each ice age period, so the distinctive family traits are of no surprise, although I didn't know this species existed. I can now add it to the list of my favourite trees. Hoop - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/213... Bunya - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/237...
Spotted on Jul 17, 2014
Submitted on Jul 18, 2014
No Comments