The Pine Trees of Australia

There are more than a hundred species of the pine tree, which is basically a coniferous tree. A majority of conifers are evergreen, meaning they do not shed their leaves even in winter, and reproduce through pollination with the aid of the wind. A Pine tree does not have flowers but only cones. The primary identifiable feature of a conifer is that its seeds are bare and not enclosed in any fruit like you typical fruit-bearing tree. This particular peculiarity of Pine is also common in some gymnosperms like the cycads and Gingko trees.

 

The leaves of the Pine tree are typically slim, often called needles like small scales along the many branchlets. These needles are able to endure cold climates and are responsible for helping the tree from losing its water supply. There are some pine species that have the more familiar wider leaves like the Kauri pines or the Agathi. Along with the cedar tree, pines have its long and slim needles bunched up in short shoots unlike the Clery-topped pine with its flat barnachlets, known as phylloclades, which look like leaves.

 

There are some conifers that are deciduous unlike most conifers that are evergreen and only replace their leaves year round. The Bald Cypress and Dawn Redwood are the deciduous species, which only sheds their foliage at the end of a particular season.

 

Many times, the young leaves of conifers are so unlike those of the adult leaves. This is best exemplified by a rare coniferous tree, the Wollemi Pine. The said tree has young leaves that are soft and dark green on top with a waxy white on the underside. These young shoots are arranged in two rows on the branches. Once the leaves reach maturity, they turn into a hard dull yellowish green shade arranged in four rows on the upper portion of the branches. It is like the tree totally changed its clothes at a certain point in its life.

 

In Australia, the primary classification or genera of conifers native to its soil are the Cypress Pines, Plum Pines, Kauri Pines, Tasmanian Cedars, Celery-Topped Pine, Huon Pine, Bunya and Hoop pines. The plantation of pine trees in the country is actually not indigenous to Australian soil, though in some locations, they have adapted well and become naturalised, meaning they can survive on their own in the wild with no need for human intervention. Many of the native conifer species in the land do not grow anywhere else outside the country because these are endemic to Australia.

 

Moreover, many of our local conifers are now few in numbers as compared to the time before the Europeans came to settle. Rampant logging as well as the tree’s vulnerability to fire has substantially decreased the number of pines particularly the Huon Pine, which is now protected from logging.

 

The Pine timber now sold in Australia for various structural purposes is now machine graded as stress grades. A machine is used to measure the stiffness of the timber by also measuring the specific weight that will result to a fixed deflection. The timber is then labeled with its correct stress grade.