G0NIFERJ3. 
-THE ARAUCARIA. 
545 
pungent, that the fruit in a perfect state is 
hard to lift, even with thick gloves on the 
hands ; the mass of the scales, however, is a 
soft pulpy substance, enclosing the seed, and 
this part soon decays, and on being torn open 
the seeds, of a very large size, fall out, black- 
ened by their contact with the decaying pulpy 
matter. The male cones are about four inches 
long, stout, cylindrical, apparently growing at 
the end of short leafy branches ; they are 
composed of a large number of closely imbri- 
cated spirally arranged oblong scales, present- 
ing each a convex apex, and having an in- 
curved point. 
This noble tree inhabits the Mount Bris- 
bane range of hills, seventy miles N. W. of 
Moreton Bay, in Australia. It was first 
introduced to this country in a living state 
by Mr. Bidwill himself, in 1843, and is, of 
course, yet very rare. "Whether or not it will 
prove at all hardy in our climate remains to 
be ascertained, and at present there is little 
prospect of the experiment having a fair 
trial. The probability to be deduced from 
its hilly habitat, is not against but rather in 
favour of its being suitable to our climate ; 
in order to this, however, the seeds should be 
collected from the highest points where it is 
found, and the plants raised from them 
planted out without being submitted to any 
of that pampering treatment which usually 
falls to the lot of scarce plants. At pre- 
sent, however, it is considered somewhat 
tender ; and we believe most of the plants 
which exist in the country have been raised 
either by cuttings or by the fashionable but 
repudiable process of grafting, which is entirely 
destructive of the characteristic habits of co- 
niferous plants, and in most cases sadly limits 
their existence and capabilities. The species is at 
least as hardy as those which immediately follow. 
The native name of this tree is Banza 
tunza, or Banya tunya. The seeds are 
extensively collected by the natives about the 
neighbourhood of Moreton Bay, and are used 
as food. The fruit, it is said, ripens only 
once in three years, and the precise period of 
their ripening does not appear to be known 
to the aborigines, who visit the trees at 
different periods to mark how they advance. 
Before they become ripe the seeds are very 
sweet, but, as they approach maturity, they 
acquire the same bean-like flavour as those of 
the Chili Pine. The natives, however, 
greedily eat them at all times — before ripe- 
ness raw, and when ripe, roasted and 
pounded into cakes. 
The wood is stated to be very close grained, 
but Mr. Bidwill was certain that none had 
been cut down in the district where he found 
the tree. He had, however, seen the wood of 
a plant five inches through, and this strongly 
48. 
resembled that of the Kawri (Bammara 
australis) but appeared to have a firmer and 
closer grain. According to Lavvson's cata- 
logue, plants of this species six inches high 
are charged 3/. 3s. each (1846). 
Araucaria braziliana, Richard (Brazilian 
Araucaria). — Leaves lanceolate, loose, thinner 
than those of A. imbricata, of a shining 
light green ; glaucous, and keeled under- 
neath, and concave on the upper side ; one 
and a half inch long, and a quarter of an 
inch broad. Cones compact, roundish-ovate, 
solitary on the tip of the branches ; scales 
thick, corky, compressed, armed with sharp 
recurved spines. 
A noble tree, about ninety feet high, intro- 
duced in 1819, not sufficiently hardy to stand 
the winters of this country in the . open air. 
In general appearance it resembles A. imbri- 
cata, though it is much more open and spread- 
ing ; its rate of growth, too, is more rapid ; 
but this may probably be accounted for by the 
fact that many of the specimens in England 
are, occasionally at least, encouraged by being 
kept in a hothouse. Many botanists at first 
considered it as identical with the preceding 
A. imbricata; but the cones, and especially 
the seeds, which have no winged appendages, 
indicate a distinctive difference. The disposi- 
tion of its branches, which are horizontal, and 
the whitish colour of its timber, also prove it 
to be quite distinct. Its native habitats are 
around the base of mountains in the province 
of Minas Geraes, on the banks of the river 
Paraibuna, and throughout Espiritu Santo. 
The seeds contain very little resinous matter, 
and are common in the market of Rio de 
Janeiro. In England the plant is propagated 
chiefly by cuttings, which are treated in every 
respect like those of heaths. At Dropmore, 
and in the Horticultural Society's garden, are 
the finest specimens in England ; but they 
have to be carefully protected from frost 
during the winter months. Plants two feet 
high are 10s. 6c/. each (1846). 
Araucaria excelsa, Aiton (lofty Araucaria, 
or Norfolk Island Pine). — Leaves long, 
slighty waved, narrow, and, when the tree is 
old, closely pressed to the branches, or bent 
inwards. Cones globular, on thick footstalks; 
scales thick, leathery, broader than in the fore- 
going. 
One of the most majestic trees in nature, a 
native of Norfolk Island and New Caledonia, 
and introduced into this country during the 
close of the last century. It reaches the 
height of 200 feet, and its extreme altitude 
has been found, in a few cases, to be about 
230 feet. Thus it is that in the first letters 
from those who emigrate from this country, 
reference is always made to the prodigious 
height and noble appearance of the forests and 
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