Common Names

Koghis kauri (Silba 1986), kaori (Schmid 1981).

Taxonomic notes

One of 5 species of Agathis endemic to New Caledonia (Schmid 1981).

Description

"A tree to 40 m tall, sometimes free of branches for 15 m high. Crown irregular, dense with ascending branches. Branchlets in whorls of 4. Bark red-brown, finely scaly. Bud globular, 4-8 mm in diameter; scales numerous, imbricate. Juvenile leaves attenuate, 9 cm long by 3.5 cm wide, on a short peduncle. Adult leaves lanceolate to elliptic, 6-8 cm long by 1.6-2 cm wide, dark green above, non-glaucous below, margins pale and recurved, apex acute. Male strobili in opposite pairs in axils of the leaves, cylindrical, 13-23 mm long by 7-10 mm in diameter, on a peduncle 2-4 mm long; microsporophylls imbricate, entire, head subreniform. Female cone elliptic to globular, 12 cm long by 10 cm wide, scales broadly rounded. Seed ovoid, 1.2-1.5 cm long by 7 mm wide with a wide spreading wing 20 mm long by 13 mm wide" (Silba 1986).

Range

New Caledonia: type near Mt. Koghis, at 100-900 m elevation (Silba 1986). Typically growing as an emergent on ultramafic soils in the central and southern parts of the island, it is the largest tree in forests developed on ultramafic soils (Schmid 1981).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

This species is listed as "LR/cd" (lower risk, conservation dependent) by the WCMC, which adds: "A species endemic to New Caledonia, which occurs in areas of rainforest on the southern ultramafic massifs. The species continues to be overexploited. The species is also sensitive to wildfires and in some places it has retreated to sheltered valleys. There is effective protection of populations occurring in Rivière Bleu Provincial Park."

See Also

de Laubenfels 1972