Scientific name: Araucaria bernieri J. Buchholz 1949
Synonyms: Araucaria bernieri subsp. buchholzii Silba, Eutassa bernieri (J.Buchholz) de Laub.
Common names: Bernier's columnar araucaria, Bernier's araucaria
Description
Tree to 50(-55) m tall in the south or as little as 4 m at maturity in the north, with trunk usually to 1 m in diameter. Bark gray, smooth, ringed through peeling in narrow bands. Crown narrowly cylindrical, with closely spaced tiers of five to seven slender, short, horizontal branches frequently shed and renewed with replacements bearing regular combs of branchlets. Branchlets slender, upwardly angled, making a V above the supporting branch, densely clothed with and largely hidden by the foliage, often shed intact after a few years. Juvenile leaves scalelike, spreading from the twigs, with a gentle forward curve, to 7 mm long, slightly flattened from side to side. Adult leaves scalelike, spreading from the twigs, strongly curled forward, overlapping, strongly keeled, pointed, 2-3.5 mm long. Stomates slanted away from the main axis of the leaf, in two dense bands on the inner face, in patches at the base of the outer faces on either side of the keel and with thin discontinuous lines extending out to the leaf tips. Pollen cones 4-9 cm long, 8-16 mm thick, with a bluish white waxy coating, each pollen scale with four to six pollen sacs in a single row or partially doubled. Seed cones egg-shaped, 10-11 cm long, 7.5-8 cm wide, with a bluish white waxy coating. Seed scales 2.5-3 cm long and wide, nearly round in outline, with two thin wings each occupying about a third of the width on either side of the embedded seed and with a narrowly triangular free tip 4.5-6 mm long sticking straight out. Seeds 2-2.5 cm long, 8-10 mm wide. Cotyledons rising above ground during germination.
New Caledonia, mostly in the southern half with outliers at the northern tip. Lowland rain forests; 100-600(-800) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable
Although the extent of occurrence and the area of occupancy fall within the threshold for Endangered, the number of locations (defined in the IUCN sense) is 15, beyond the thresholds for listing under either Endangered or Vulnerable. Additionally, although subpopulations (Thio, Mount Kouakoué/ Rivière Bleue and the Plaine des Lacs area) are discontinuous and separated by significant areas of unsuitable habitat, the majority of fragments lie within a 50 km radius of the main subpopulation at Rivière Bleue. For this reason, they are not considered severely fragmented and criterion B is not applicable under any category of threat. The total population is estimated to be less than 10,000 mature individuals. A decline of 10% over the next 100 years (generation length is more than 30 years) is projected based on the likelihood of losses through fire and activities associated with mining. On this basis an assessment of Vulnerable under criterion C1 is reasonable.
This species generally occurs as scattered emergent trees, rather than in dense stands. This species is restricted to lower altitude moist evergreen forest and is occasionally found along stream beds. It is restricted to soils derived from ultramafic rock.
In the past, this species was under some pressure from logging. Currently the major threats are various activities associated with mining such as road building and waste storage and fires whose frequency prevents the regeneration or expansion of remnant stands. The wood is reported to be of high quality and has been locally exploited.
This species is represented in protected areas including Rivière Bleue Provincial Park and Montagne des Sources Nature Reserve. Northern subpopulations are all outside of protected areas and vulnerable to mining activities. All subpopulations are vulnerable to fire.
References
- Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
- Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
