Phil Bendle Collection:Agathis robusta (Queensland Kauri)

Kingdom:   Plantae
Division:    Pinophyta
Class:        Pinopsida
Order:       Pinales
Family:      Araucariaceae
Genus:      Agathis
Species:     A. robusta
Binomial name: Agathis robusta
Synonym: A. palmerstonii
Common name: Queensland Kauri, Smooth-barked Kauri, Dundathu Pine.

Agathis robusta is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae, native to eastern Queensland, Australia. It is found in two disjunct areas, one in S Queensland between Tewantin and Maryborough (mainland) and on Fraser Island [latitude 25°-26.5° S]; the other in N Queensland between the Herbert River and Big Tableland near Cooktown [latitude 15.5°-18.5° S].
It is a large evergreen tree growing straight and tall to a height of 30-50 m, with smooth, scaly bark. The leaves are 5-12 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, tough and leathery in texture, with no midrib; they are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely whorls of three) on the stem. The seed cones are globose, 8-13 cm diameter, and mature in 18-20 months after pollination; they disintegrate at maturity to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are cylindrical, 5-10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm thick.
A. robusta was heavily logged in the past, and spectacular trees of prodigious size are much rarer than in pre-European times; despite this, the species as a whole is not endangered.

Two Agathis robusta photographed at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth
[1]

The  pyramidal shaped crown
[2]

[3]

The top surface of a leaf.

The underside of the leaves.

The cones photographed July NZ

Trunk with smooth bark.  The rough growth on it is lichen.
[4] 

Like the NZ Kauri (A. australis) resin leaks out through fractures or cracks in the bark, hardening with the exposure to air
[5]

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