Araucaria muelleri

(Carrière) Brong. & Gris. 1871

Common names

Mueller's araucaria.

Taxonomic notes

Syn.: Eutacta muelleri Carrière 1866; Eutassa muelleri (Carrière) de Laub. 2009 (nom. inval.) (Mill et al. 2017). A molecular analysis places Araucaria muelleri into the clade of large-leaved species of New Caledonia, along with A. biramulata, A. goroensis, A. humboldtensis, A. laubenfelsii, A. montana, and A. rulei (Gaudeul et al. 2012). Since this species was described, molecular analysis has been used to distinguish it from A. goroensis, which can also be distinguished by morphology; however the latter species has only been recognized since 2016 and earlier literature does not distinguish the two taxa.

Description

Monoecious trees to 20 m tall and 60 cm dbh with an open, candelabra-like crown, branching per Rauh's model. Bark thick, light to reddish gray, exfoliating in horizontal strips, with a dark red inner bark. Foliage-bearing twigs borne distally on primary branches, steeply ascending from primary branches, up to 50 cm long and 3-5 cm across (including foliage), becoming broader toward the tips, straight or slightly curved, stiff. Adult leaves lanceolate to ovate, 20-32×9.5-18.5 mm, flat, tapering to an obtuse apex, exposed surface coriaceous and smooth with a matte texture, strongly keeled, margins revolute. Stomata in many closely-spaced rows from base to apex. Pollen cones terminal, erect, straight, 20-35×3-4 cm, the microsporophylls borne on a 10-12 mm thick rachis, imbricate, with a 4-5 mm stalk; lamina ovate, 6-8×5-6 mm, apex mucronate, with 15-20 linear pollen sacs, ca. 10 mm long. Seed cones terminal on short, thick twigs, solitary, erect, ovoid, 11-15×9-11 cm; bracts 2-2.5×1.8-2.2 cm with a rostrate, upcurved, 10-15 mm tip. Seeds oblong, 17-22×9-10 mm, slightly flattened, light brown (Farjon 2010, description modified per Mill et al. 2016 to exclude plants of A. goroensis). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Distribution and Ecology

New Caledonia: Grande Terre, Province Sud, where it is confined to the ultramafic region known as the 'Massif du Sud' or the 'Grand Sud' (Farjon et al. 2017).

This maps shows herbarium records of Araucaria species native to New Caledonia. Letter corresponds to first letter of species epithet with different colors for species having same first letter; A. muelleri is dark green (A. goroensis coded as A. muelleri, see A. goroensis for discussion). Note that some of these records have been attributed to A. goroensis; see map on that page for further detail. Click on an icon for further information. Distribution data from GBIF (2020.03.30), edited to remove duplicates.

The IUCN reports that this species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild due to a limited and severely fragmented range that is suffering ongoing and projected declines in extent of habitat, number of subpopulations, and number of mature plants.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.02.23.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2023.02.23.

Observations

No data as of 2023.02.23.

Remarks

Citations

Brongniart, A. and J. A. A. Gris. 1871. Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. sér. 5, 13: 362. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.03.04.

Farjon, A., M. Gardner M. and P. Thomas. 2017. Conifer Database (version Jan 2014). In: Roskov et al. (eds.), Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/c37c26ab00c816c61f8ec5ccaff65d8d/source/tree, accessed 2017.04.16, now defunct.

Gaudeul, M., G. Rouhan, M.F. Gardner, and P.M. Hollingsworth. 2012. AFLP markers provide insights into the evolutionary relationships and diversification of New Caledonian Araucaria species (Araucariaceae). American Journal of Botany 99(1):68-81.

Mill, R. R., M. Ruhsam, P. I. Thomas, M. F. Gardner, and P. M. Hollingsworth. 2017. Araucaria goroensis (Araucariaceae), a new monkey puzzle from New Caledonia, and nomenclatural notes on Araucaria muelleri. Edinburgh Journal of Botany. DOI: 10.1017/S0960428617000014.

Ruhsam, M., A. Clark, A. Finger, A. S. Wulff, R. R. Mill, P. I. Thomas, M. F. Gardner, M. Gaudeul, R. A. Ennos, and P. M. Hollingsworth. 2016. Hidden in plain view: cryptic diversity in the emblematic Araucaria of New Caledonia. American Journal of Botany 103(5):888–898.

See also

Association Endemia, a site devoted to New Caledonian species. Has excellent photos, a range map, and other information. In French.

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.

de Laubenfels (1972).