Agathis dammara

Agathis dammara
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
(unranked):	Gymnosperms
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Araucariaceae
Genus:	Agathis
Species:	A. dammara
Binomial name
	Agathis dammara; (Lamb.) Rich.
Synonyms
	Agathis alba (Koord.) Warb; Agathis celebica (Koord.) Warb; Agathis loranthifolia Salisb.; Dammara loranthifolia (Salisb.) Link; Pinus dammara Lamb.;

Agathis dammara, commonly known as the Amboyna pine or almaciga (almasiga), is a coniferous timber^[1] tree native to Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Maluku Islands in Indonesia and to some extent The Philippines.

Description[]

Women sorting dammar seeds in West-Preanger, Java. 1936

Agathis dammara is a medium-large conifer up to 60 metres in height found in tropical rainforests, growing from sea level to very high mountainous regions where it becomes extremely stunted. It belongs to the southern hemisphere family Araucariaceae, widespread throughout the entire Mesozoic, emerging about 200 million years ago. An extinct genus, Protodammara (which appeared long ago, during the Mesozoic), derives its name from this tree. This tree is a source of dammar gum, also known as cat-eye resin.

Taxonomy[]

When first discovered and listed as a species it was placed in the genus Pinus (Lambert, 1803), and then later with the firs, Abies (Poir 1817), and then with its own genus, Dammara. It was first recognised as being part of Agathis in 1807, when it was listed as Agathis loranthifolia, and beyond that with species names beccarii, celebica and macrostachys, although it acquired many more names before dammara was settled on.

Related species[]

Agathis is a very diverse genus, although it has only 21 species. Many Agathis species are found in tropical rainforests, some other species grow in more temperate and cool climate forests. Agathis atropurpurea is found in montane forests of far northern Queensland, Australia. The species grows in regions with altitudes between 950 and 1450 metres above sea-level. Where rainfall could exceed 18,000 millimetres in areas with no data. In the cloud forest of this region, the soil is so deprived of nutrients, that trees cannot grow in some areas; leaving only heathland and sphagnum bogs. Agathis robusta grows in tropical rainforests on sandy soils near the coast, such as on Fraser Island where it grows in subtropical rainforest (although there is no soil on Fraser Island, only sand). Agathis ovata grows at altitudes between 150 and 1000 metres in New Caledonia, sometimes in forests, sometimes in open scrubland.

References[]

^ Agathis wood Archived April 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

External links[]

Agathis dammara at the Gymnosperm Database.
"Agathis dammara". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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[1] Agathis wood Archived April 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

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