View source for Araucaria bidwillii

{{Short description|Species of tree in the family Araucariaceae}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Bunya pine
|fossil_range =
|image = Palacio-Monserrate Araucaria SET-07.jpg
|status = LC
|status_system = QLDNCA
|status_ref = {{R|DESQLD}}
|status2 = LC
|status2_system = IUCN3.1
|status2_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Thomas, P. |date=2011 |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' |volume=2011 |article-number=e.T42195A10660714 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T42195A10660714.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Araucaria
|parent = Araucaria sect. Bunya
|species = bidwillii
|authority = [[William Jackson Hooker|Hook.]], 1843{{R|APNI}}
}}

'''''Araucaria bidwillii''''', commonly known as the '''bunya pine''' ({{IPAc-en|'|b|ʌ|n|j|ə}}),<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=bunya |encyclopedia=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |date=18 August 2011 |editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Angus |editor-first2=Maurice |editor-last2=Waite |edition=Luxury |page=186 |isbn=978-0-19-960111-0}}</ref> '''banya'''<ref name="Tindale" /> or '''bunya-bunya''', is a large [[evergreen]] [[conifer]]ous tree in the family [[Araucariaceae]] which is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Australia]]. Its natural range is southeast [[Queensland]] with two very small, [[Disjunct distribution|disjunct]] populations in northeast Queensland's World Heritage listed [[Wet Tropics of Queensland|Wet Tropics]]. There are many planted specimens on the [[Atherton Tableland]], in [[New South Wales]], and around the [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] metropolitan area, and it has also been widely planted in other parts of the world. They are very tall trees – the tallest living individual is in [[Bunya Mountains National Park]] and was reported by Robert Van Pelt in January 2003 to be {{cvt|51.5|m}} in height.

==Description==
''Araucaria bidwillii'' will grow to a height of {{cvt|50|m|-1}} with a single unbranched trunk up to {{cvt|1.5|m}} [[diameter at breast height|diameter]], which has dark brown or black flaky bark.{{R|FOA|COOPER2|TGD|ANSPA}} The branches are produced in [[Whorl (botany)|whorls]] at regular intervals along the trunk, with leaf-bearing branchlets crowded at their ends.{{R|TGD}} The branches are held more or less horizontally – those towards the top of the trunk may be somewhat ascending, those on the lowest section of the trunk may be somewhat drooping. This arrangement gives the tree a very distinctive egg-shaped silhouette.

The leaves are small and rigid with a sharp tip which can easily penetrate the skin.{{R|RFK}} They are narrowly triangular, broad at the base and [[Sessility (botany)|sessile]] (without a stem).{{R|FOA|RFK}} They measure up to {{cvt|5|cm}} long by {{cvt|1|cm|1}} wide with fine longitudinal venation, glossy green above and paler underneath.{{R|FOA|RFK|ANSPA}} The [[Phyllotaxis|leaf arrangement]] is both [[Phyllotaxis|distichous]] and decussate (referred to as secondarily distichous) – that is, one pair of leaves are produced on the twig opposite each other, and the next pair above is rotated around the twig 90° to them, and so on.{{R|FOA}}

The cones are [[Glossary of botanical terms#terminal|terminal]], the male (or pollen) cone is a [[Raceme#Spike|spike]] up to {{cvt|20|cm}} long which matures around October to November.{{R|COOPER2|TGD|ANSPA|RFK}} The female (or seed) cone is much larger, reaching up to {{cvt|30|cm}} long and {{cvt|20|cm}} wide, which is roughly equivalent to a [[rugby ball]].{{R|COOPER2|TGD|ANSPA|RFK}} At maturity, which occurs from December through to March,{{R|COOPER2|TGD}} female cones are green with 50–100 pointed segments, each of which encloses a seed, and they can weigh up to 10&nbsp;kg.{{R|TGD|ANSPA|BMNP|ABCNEWS}} Both seed and pollen cones are some of the largest of all conifer species.{{R|HERNANDEZ}}

The edible seeds, known as [[#Bunya nut|bunya nuts]], measure between {{cvt|2.5|cm|1}} and {{cvt|5|cm}} long and are [[Glossary of botanical terms#ovoid|ovoid]] to [[Glossary of botanical terms#elliptical|long-elliptic]].{{R|FOA|COOPER2|TGD|RFK}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px">
File:Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) in habitat, Bunya Mountains NP, Queensland 1.jpg|Distinctive canopies seen at Bunya Mountains
File:Araucaria_bidwillii_248817540.jpg|Close up of leaves
File:Araucaria-bidwillii-ALA-1.jpg|Male cones
File:Araucaria bidwillii 173687577.jpg|Female cone
File:Araucaria bidwillii 173687590.jpg|Seeds
</gallery>

===Architecture===
In the 1970s, botanists [[Francis Hallé|Hallé]], Oldeman and [[P. B. Tomlinson|Tomlinson]] studied the growth patterns of tropical trees and described a set of 23 "architectural models", named after various botanists, which can be seen as different growth strategy to occupy space.<ref name="TTF">{{Cite book |last1=Hallé |first1=Francis |title=Tropical trees and forests: an architectural analysis |last2=Oldeman |first2=Roelof A. A. |last3=Tomlinson |first3=P. B. |last4=Tomlinson |first4=P. B. |date=1978 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-540-08494-5 |location=Berlin Heidelberg}}</ref> ''Araucaria bidwillii'', like many species from the [[Araucariaceae]] family and the [[Abies|fir]] genus, changes its structural model over time. Initially its follows ''[[Jean Massart|Massart]]'s model'' (a single, upright trunk that grows steadily and produces neat, horizontal layers of branches at regular intervals)<ref name="TTF"/>{{rp|p=191}} and gradually changes to ''[[Werner Rauh|Rauh]]'s model'' (like Massart's, but here each branch grows structurally similar to the trunk, with smaller branches branching off of it.)<ref name="TTF"/>{{rp|p=221}}

===Phenology===
The trees' pollen cones appear in April and mature in September or October.<ref>The Gymnosperm Database https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_bidwillii.php</ref> The cones require fifteen months to mature,<ref>{{cite book | last1= Allen | first1= Richard | last2= Baker | first2= Kimbal | date= 2009 | title= Australia's Remarkable Trees | location= Melbourne | publisher= Miegunyah Press| pages= 23–27}}</ref> and the cones fall 17 to 18 months after pollination in late January to early March from the coast to the current [[Bunya Mountains]]. When there is heavy rainfall or drought, pollination may vary.<ref>Australian Journal of Botany 70(8) p 515 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT22043
2022</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The species was described by the English botanist [[William Jackson Hooker]] in 1843, based on material collected in the "Mount Brisbane range of hills, 70 miles N.W. of Moreton Bay" by [[John Carne Bidwill]] in 1842.{{R|APNI|HOOKER}}{{rp|498}} Hooker states in his paper that Bidwill took "not only branches and cones and male flowers, but also a healthy young living plant" to England where Hooker set about describing the new species, and his paper (titled "Figure and description of a new species of Araucaria from Moreton Bay, New Holland") was published in his own journal ''London Journal of Botany''.{{R|HOOKER}}{{rp|498}}

===Etymology===
The [[genus]] name ''Araucaria'' is taken from the Spanish word ''Araucanía'', the name of the area in Chile where the first species of this genus originated, and/or ''Araucanos'', the Spanish word for the original inhabitants of the area.{{R|COOPER2|ANSPA}} Hooker coined the [[Botanical name#Binary name|species epithet]] in honour of Bidwill, for his efforts in collecting specimens and bringing them to him.{{R|HOOKER}}{{rp|502}}

===Vernacular names===
In various [[Australian Aboriginal languages]], this tree is known as ''banya'' (anglicised as ''bunya''), ''bonye, bon-yi''<ref name="CCPETRIE">{{cite book |last1=Petrie |first1=Constance Campbell |title=Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of Early Queensland |date=1837 |publisher=Watson Ferguson & Co. |location=Brisbane |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks20/2000451h.html |chapter=Chapter II}}</ref> (in [[Gubbi Gubbi language|Gubbi Gubbi]]), ''bunyi'' or ''bunya-bunya'', leading to its common name 'bunya pine'.<ref>Queensland Government Species profile — Araucaria bidwillii (bunya pine)https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=13706</ref> It is also less-known as the false monkey puzzle tree (not to be confused with ''[[Araucaria araucana]]'', the monkey puzzle tree).<ref>{{cite web | title=False monkey puzzle | website=Stuff | date=25 August 2009 | url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/life-style/gardening/548709/False-monkey-puzzle | access-date=3 December 2020|others=From [[Waikato Times]].}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Araucaria bidwillii Bunya-Bunya, Monkey Puzzle Tree, False Monkey Puzzle PFAF Plant Database | website=Plants for a future| url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Araucaria+bidwillii | access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

==Evolution==
The bunya pine is a member of the Section ''Bunya'' of the genus ''Araucaria'', and is the sole extant species within it.{{R|TGD|ACS}} This section is thought to have been most widespread in the [[Mesozoic]] – fossils from the [[Jurassic]] period with cone morphology similar to ''A. bidwillii'' have been found in the UK (''[[Araucaria sphaerocarpa]]'') and South America (''[[Araucaria mirabilis]]''){{R|HERNANDEZ}}

==Distribution==
At the start of British occupation, ''A. bidwillii'' was abundant in southern Queensland, occurring in large groves or sprinkled regularly as an [[Rainforest#Emergent layer|emergent]] species throughout other forest types on the upper [[Stanley River (Queensland)|Stanley]] and [[Brisbane River]]s, Sunshine Coast hinterland (especially the [[Blackall Range]] and [[Maleny, Queensland|Maleny]]), and also towards and on the Bunya Mountains.

Two more natural, but very small and very isolated, populations of the species occur approximately {{convert|1500|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the north, in the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland – one close to [[Cannabullen Falls]] on the [[Atherton Tableland]], and the other in the [[Mount Lewis National Park]].{{R|COL|RFK}}

Today, the southeast Queensland populations exist as very small groves or single trees in its former range, except on and near the Bunya Mountains, where it is still fairly prolific, while the populations in north Queensland remain stable.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2024 |title=Araucaria bidwillii |url=https://anpsa.org.au/plant_profiles/araucaria-bidwillii/ |access-date=4 May 2024 |website=Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)}}</ref>

The limited distribution of ''A. bidwillii'' in Australia is in part due to poor seed dispersal, and also the drying out of the Australian continent over the millennia, leading to a reduction of areas with suitable climatic zones for rainforest.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Falster |first1=Georgina M. |last2=Wright |first2=Nicky M. |last3=Abram |first3=Nerilie J. |last4=Ukkola |first4=Anna M. |last5=Henley |first5=Benjamin J. |date=27 March 2024 |title=Potential for historically unprecedented Australian droughts from natural variability and climate change |url=https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/1383/2024/ |journal=Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=1383–1401 |doi=10.5194/hess-28-1383-2024 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024HESS...28.1383F |via=European Geosciences Union}}</ref>

==Ecology==
A variety of birds and animals, including [[sulphur-crested cockatoo]]s (''Cacatua galerita''), [[short-eared possum]]s (''Trichosurus caninus''), [[Fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat|fawn-footed melomys]] (''Melomys cervinipes''), and [[Wallaby|wallabies]] are known to eat the seeds.{{R|BMNP|ABCNEWS|TELLA}} The cockatoos are also a dispersal agent as they will carry seeds to a distant perch to eat, but may drop them on the way.{{R|TELLA}}

The suggestion that extinct large animals (initially dinosaurs and later the [[Australian megafauna]]) may have been dispersers for the bunya is reasonable, given the size of the seeds and their energy content, but difficult to confirm given the incompleteness of the fossil record for [[coprolites]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

''A. bidwillii'' has an unusual cryptogeal seed germination in which the seeds develop to form an underground tuber from which the aerial shoot later emerges. The actual emergence of the seed is then known to occur over several years presumably as a strategy to allow the seedlings to emerge under optimum climatic conditions or, it has been suggested, to avoid fire. This erratic germination has been one of the main problems in [[silviculture]] of the species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Ian R. |last2=Butler |first2=Don |date=November 2002 |title=The Bunya in Queensland's Forests |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/queensland-review/article/abs/bunya-in-queenslands-forests/A452919748724D11AF8F75064F9807C6 |journal=Queensland Review |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=31–38 |doi=10.1017/S1321816600002932 |issn=1321-8166|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A problem in small forestry plantations of the bunya pine in Southeast Queensland is the introduction of red deer (''[[Cervus elaphus]]''). Unlike possums and rodents, the deer eat bunya cones while still intact, preventing their dispersal.<ref>State of Queensland, 2013, Feral deer management
strategy 2013–18, p. 7</ref>

==Cultural significance==
The ''bunya'', ''bonye'', ''bunyi'', ''bunya-bunya'' or ''banya'' tree produces edible kernels. The ripe cones fall to the ground. Each segment contains a kernel in a tough protective shell, which will split when boiled or put in a fire. The flavour of the kernel is often compared to a chestnut, although it is less intense in terms of aroma and flavour. The savory flavour and aroma is also comparable to cooked potato.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moura Nadolny |first1=Jaqueline |last2=Best |first2=Odette |last3=Hassall |first3=Emma |last4=Shewan |first4=Heather M. |last5=Olarte Mantilla |first5=Sandra M. |last6=Stokes |first6=Jason R. |last7=Smyth |first7=Heather E. |date=2022-05-20 |title=Sensory properties of Australian bunya nuts |journal=Journal of Food Science |volume=87 |issue=6 |language=en |pages=1750–3841.16184 |doi=10.1111/1750-3841.16184 |pmid=35593256 |pmc=9325081 |issn=0022-1147}}</ref>

The cones were a very important food source for native Australians – each Aboriginal family would own a group of trees and these would be passed down from generation to generation.{{R|PFAF}} This is said to be the only case of hereditary personal property owned by the Aboriginal people.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

After the cones had fallen and the fruit was ripe, a large festival harvest would sometimes occur, between two and seven years apart. The people of the region would set aside differences and gather in the Bon-yi Mountains ([[Bunya Mountains]]) to feast on the kernels. The local people, who were bound by custodial obligations and rights, sent out messengers to invite people from hundreds of kilometres to meet at specific sites. The meetings involved [[Aboriginal ceremonies]], dispute settlements and fights, marriage arrangements and the trading of goods.{{R|HAEBICH}}

In what was probably Australia's largest Indigenous event,{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=This sounds like a personal opinion - please provide a reference}} diverse tribes – up to thousands of people – once travelled great distances (from as far as [[Charleville, Queensland|Charleville]], [[Bundaberg]], [[Dubbo]] and [[Grafton, New South Wales|Grafton]]) to the gatherings. They stayed for months, to celebrate and feast on the bunya nut. The bunya gatherings were an armistice accompanied by much trade exchange, and discussions and negotiations over marriage and regional issues. Due to the sacred status of the bunyas, some tribes would not camp amongst these trees. Also in some regions, the tree was never to be cut.<ref name="Tindale">{{cite book |last=Tindale |first=Norman B. |title=Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names |publisher=Australian National University Press |year=1974 |isbn=0-7081-0741-9 |location=Canberra |pages=80, 124–6}}</ref><ref>Jerome, P., 2002. Boobarran Ngummin: the Bunya Mountains. [Opening address to the Bunya Symposium (2002: Griffith University).].</ref>

Representatives of many different groups from across southern Queensland and northern [[New South Wales]] would meet to discuss important issues relating to the environment, social relationships, politics and The Dreaming lore, feasting and sharing dance ceremonies. Many conflicts would be settled at this event, and consequences for breaches of laws were discussed.<ref name=resource8>{{cite report|url=https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach2/indigenous_res010_0802.pdf|publisher=Queensland Government and Queensland Studies Authority|series=Resource: Indigenous Perspectives: Res008|date=February 2008|title=Aboriginal Ceremonies|access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref>

A Bunya festival was recorded by [[Thomas Petrie]] (1831–1910), who went with the Aboriginal people of Brisbane at the age of 14 to the festival at the Bunya Range (now the Blackall Range in the hinterland area of the Sunshine Coast). His daughter, Constance Petrie, put down his stories in which he said that the trees fruited at three-year intervals.<ref>{{SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/bountiful-bunyas-charismatic-tree-fascinating-history|title=Bountiful bunyas : a charismatic tree with a fascinating history|date=11 October 2021|author(s)=Stacey Larner|accessdate=31 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://anpsa.org.au/APOL8/dec97-3.html|title=Bunya Feast|access-date=16 February 2012|website=anpsa.org.au}}</ref> The three-year interval may not be correct. [[Ludwig Leichhardt]] wrote in 1844 of his expedition to the Bunya feast.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ludwig Leichhardt (on the bushfood trail) |journal=Australian Bushfoods Magazine |year=1997 |issue=1 |url=http://www.ausbushfoods.com/backissues/Issue1/issue_1_13.htm |access-date=30 October 2012 |issn=1447-0489 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105202527/http://www.ausbushfoods.com/backissues/Issue1/issue_1_13.htm |archive-date=5 November 2013 }}</ref>

In 1842, the government of what was then the [[Colony of New South Wales]] published a notice in the [[Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales|N.S.W. Government Gazette]] which prohibited settlers from occupying land or cutting timber within a proclaimed "Bunya district". This may have been in recognition of the local Aboriginal people's close association with these trees,{{R|Heap1965}} or their "fierce protection" of them.{{R|HAEBICH}} Regardless, the proclamation was repealed in 1860 in one of the first acts of the government of the newly created [[Colony of Queensland]].<ref name="Heap1965"/> The Aboriginal people were eventually driven out of the forests and the festivals ceased.{{R|HAEBICH}} The forests were felled for timber and cleared to make way for cultivation.{{R|HAEBICH}}

===Today===
Indigenous groups such as the [[Wakka Wakka|Wakawaka]], [[Githabul]], [[Kabi Kabi]], [[Jarowair]], [[Goreng goreng]], [[Butchulla]], [[Quandamooka]], [[Baruŋgam]], [[Yiman people|Yiman]] and [[Wulili]] have continued cultural and spiritual connections to the Bunya Mountains to this day. A number of strategies including the use of [[traditional ecological knowledge]] have been incorporated into the current management practices of the national park and conservation reserves with the Bunya Murri Ranger project currently operating in the mountains.<ref>Markwell Consulting, 2010. Bonye Buru Booburrgan Ngmmunge – Bunya Mountains Aboriginal Aspirations and Caring for Country Plan (Plan).</ref><ref>Queensland Government, 2012. Bunya Mountains National Park Management Statement 2012 (Management Plan). Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing.</ref>

==Uses==
{{broader|Araucaria#Uses}}
{{Verify section|date=December 2025}}
[[File:AraucariaBidwillii cones.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Whole cones and a cone cracked open to reveal the insides]]
[[File:A Bunya Araucaria bidwillii cone.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A comparison on how large the cones can grow]]
[[File:Bunya Cone.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Whole cone and nuts]]

===Bunya nut===
[[Indigenous Australians]] eat the nut of the bunya tree (known as ''yenggi'' {{IPA|aus|jeŋgi}}<ref name="Tindale" />) both raw and cooked, and also in its immature form. Traditionally, the nuts were additionally ground and made into a paste, which was eaten directly or cooked in hot coals to make [[Bush bread|bread]] called ''manu''. The nuts were also stored in the mud of running creeks, and eaten in a fermented state.<ref name="Tindale" /> This was considered a delicacy.

Apart from consuming the nuts, Indigenous Australians ate bunya shoots, and utilised the tree's bark as kindling.

Bunya nuts are still sold as a regular food item in grocery stalls and street-side stalls around rural southern Queensland. Some farmers in the Wide Bay/ Sunshine Coast regions have experimented with growing bunya trees commercially for their nuts and timber. 

The bunya nut has become popularised as a '[[bushfood]]' by indigenous foods enthusiasts. A huge variety of home-invented recipes now exists for the bunya nut; from pancakes, biscuits and breads, to casseroles, to 'bunya nut pesto' or hoummus. The nut is considered nutritious, with a unique flavour similar to starchy potato and chestnut.
[[File:Bunya-pine-wood.jpg|thumb|Bunya pine guitar body]]
When the nuts are boiled in water, the water turns red, making a flavoursome tea.

The nutritional content of the bunya nut is: 40% water, 40% complex carbohydrates, 9% protein, 2% fat, 0.2% potassium, 0.06% magnesium. It is also gluten free, making bunya nut flour a substitute for people with gluten intolerance.

The 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' records that "The cones shed their seeds, which are two to two and a-half inches long by three-quarters of an inch broad; they are sweet before being perfectly ripe, and after that resemble roasted chestnuts in taste."<ref name="MAIDEN">{{cite book |last=Maiden |first=J. H. |title=The Useful Native Plants of Australia, (Including Tasmania) |date=1889 |publisher=The Technological Museum of New South Wales |location=Sydney |page=7 |access-date=20 December 2025 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12453187 }}</ref>

===Timber===
Bunya timber was and is still highly valued as "tonewood" for stringed instruments' sound boards since the first European settlers. Since the mid-1990s, the Australian company [[Maton]] has used bunya for the soundboards of its BG808CL Performer acoustic guitars. The [[Cole Clark]] company (also Australian) uses bunya for the majority of its acoustic guitar soundboards. The timber is valued by cabinet makers and woodworkers, and has been used for that purpose for over a century.

==Cultivation==
[[File:Araucaria bidwillii cultivation.jpg|thumb|A pair of bunya seedlings showing the change in leaf colour. The [[cotyledon]]s are [[hypogeal germination|hypogeal]], remaining below the ground.]]
Bunya nuts are slow to germinate. A set of 12 seeds sown in Melbourne took an average of about six months to germinate (with the first germinating in three months) and only developed roots after one year.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The first leaves form a rosette and are dark brown.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} The leaves only turn green once the first stem branch occurs.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} Unlike the mature leaves, the young leaves are relatively soft.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} As the leaves age they become very hard and sharp.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} [[Cuttings (plants)|Cuttings]] can be successful, though they must be taken from erect growing shoots, as cuttings from side shoots will not grow upright.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In the highly variable Australian climate, the varied timing of emergence of the seedlings maximises the possibility of at least successful replacement of the parent tree. A test of germination was carried out by Smith starting in 1999.<ref name="smith2009">{{Citation | first1=Ian R. | last1=Smith | first2=Don | last2=Butler | contribution=The Bunya Pine – the ecology of Australia's other 'Living Fossil' Araucarian – Dandabah Area – Bunya Mountains, South East Queensland, Australia. | pages=287–298 | editor1=Bieleski, R. L. | editor2=Wilcox, M. D. | title=Araucariacea: proceedings of the 2002 Araucariaceae Symposium, Araucaria-Agathis-Wollemia |year=2009 | publisher=International Dendrology Society | isbn=978-0-473-15226-0 | oclc=614167748 }}</ref> Seeds were extracted from two mature cones collected from the same tree, a cultivated specimen at [[Petrie, Queensland|Petrie]], just north of Brisbane (originally the homestead of [[Thomas Petrie]], the son of the first European to report the species).  One hundred apparently full seeds were selected and planted into 30&nbsp;cm by 12&nbsp;cm plastic tubes commercially filled with sterile potting mix in early February 1999.  These were then placed in a shaded area and watered weekly. Four tubes were lost due to being knocked over.  Of a total of 100 seeds placed, 87 germinated. The tubes were checked monthly for emergence over three years. Of these seeds, 55 emerged from April to December, 1999; 32 emerged from January to September in 2000, one seed emerged in January 2001, and the last appeared in February 2001.<ref name="smith2009"/>

Once established, bunyas are quite hardy and they can be grown as far south as [[Hobart]] in Australia (42° S) and [[Christchurch]] in New Zealand (43° S)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/308/Old/Lists/second%20ed/Araucariaaraucana.pdf | title=Araucaria araucana and A. bidwillii by Michael A. Arnold | access-date=30 October 2012 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053339/http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/308/Old/Lists/second%20ed/Araucariaaraucana.pdf }}</ref> and (at least) as far north as [[Sacramento]] in California (38° N)<ref name="University of Hamburg: Department of Biology">{{cite web|url=http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/ar/ar/bidwillii.htm |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' |publisher=University of Hamburg |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028012037/http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/ar/ar/bidwillii.htm |archive-date=28 October 2009 }}</ref> and [[Coimbra]] (in the botanical garden) and even in [[Dublin]] area in Ireland (53ºN) in a microclimate protected from arctic winds and moderated by the Gulf Stream.<ref name="The Garden Flora of Northern Ireland" >{{cite web|url=http://www.earlscliffe.com/climatic_zone_plants.htm|title=Climatic zone plants|publisher=Earlscliffe|access-date=17 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721193555/http://www.earlscliffe.com/climatic_zone_plants.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> They will reach a height of 35 to 40 metres, and live for about 500 years.

==Dangers==
The cones of the bunya pine are some of the largest produced by the conifer family. The cones—which can grow to as much as {{convert|35|cm|in}} in diameter when mature, and weigh up to {{convert|10|kg|lb}}—can drop on unsuspecting passersby from heights of {{convert|40|m|ft}} or more.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dropping season for giant Bunya pine cones |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/dropping-season-for-giant-bunya-pine-cones/042ajuo1h |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=SBS News |date=18 January 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The falling cones are capable of causing severe injuries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-10-14 |title=Man injured by pine cone in San Francisco park sues the US government for $5m |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-34527136 |access-date=2023-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-04-13 |title=Giant pine cone crashes on couple |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/6738347/Giant-pine-cone-crashes-on-couple |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> Caution is also advised when parking under these trees as the falling cones can damage vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Ian A. |date=2018-05-22 |title=Bunya pines are ancient, delicious and possibly deadly |url=http://theconversation.com/bunya-pines-are-ancient-delicious-and-possibly-deadly-96003 |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
A specimen of ''Araucaria bidwillii'' in [[East Los Angeles, California]] is featured in [[Taylor Hackford]]'s 1993 film ''[[Blood In Blood Out]]'' as a touchstone for the main characters.<ref name="LAT-Famous-Tree">{{cite web |last1=Becerra |first1=Hector |title=Great Read: A tree's cinematic fame continues to grow in East L.A. |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/great-reads/la-me-c1-east-la-tree-20140630-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times|date=30 June 2014 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref> The tree, known as "[[El Pino (The Pine Tree)|El Pino]]" ("the pine" in Spanish), has become famous from this association, and is visited by international fans of the film.<ref name="LAT-Famous-Tree" /> A late-2020 prank claiming the tree would be cut down incited a brief panic locally.<ref name="LAT-Tree-Prank">{{cite web |last1=Arellano |first1=Gustavo |title=Column: People came by to pay final respects to this East L.A. tree that went Hollywood. Too soon? |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-01/el-pino-blood-in-blood-out-tree-chopped-down-prank |work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 2021 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|35em|refs=
<ref name="DESQLD">{{cite web |url=https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=13706 |title=Species profile—''Araucaria bidwillii'' |year=2022 |website=Queensland Department of Environment and Science |publisher=[[Queensland Government]] |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="APNI">{{cite web |url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/98393 |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' |website=[[Australian Plant Name Index]] (APNI) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, [[Australian Government]] |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="RFK">{{cite web |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Araucaria_bidwillii.htm |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |website=[[Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants]] Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), [[Australian Government]] |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="FOA">{{cite web |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Araucaria%20bidwillii |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' |last1=Hill |first1=K.D. |year=2022 |website=[[Flora of Australia]] |publisher=[[Australian Biological Resources Study]], Department of Climate Change, the Environment and Water: Canberra |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="COOPER2">{{Cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Wendy |last2=Cooper |first2=William T. |author-link2=William T. Cooper |date=June 2004 |title=Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest |publication-place=Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia |publisher=Nokomis Editions |isbn=978-0-9581742-1-3 |url=https://www.nokomis.com.au/product/nokomis-published-books/fruits-australian-tropical-rainforest/ |page=5}}</ref>

<ref name="TGD">{{cite web |title=Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine) description |url=https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_bidwillii.php |website=The Gymnosperm Database |access-date=20 January 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="HOOKER">{{cite journal |last1=Hooker |first1=W.J. |title=Figure and description of a new species of Araucaria from Moreton Bay, New Holland |journal=London Journal of Botany |date=1843 |volume=2 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/6313 |access-date=28 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="COL">{{cite web|title=Conifer Database in Catalogue of Life|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2009/show_species_details.php?record_id=5647836|access-date=23 October 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="ANSPA">{{cite web |title=Araucaria bidwillii |url=https://anpsa.org.au/plant_profiles/araucaria-bidwillii/ |access-date=13 September 2022 |website=anpsa.org.au}}</ref>

<ref name="BMNP">{{cite web |title=Bunya Mountains National Park |url=https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/bunya-mountains/about/culture |website=Parks and forests, Department of Environment and Science |date=20 October 2009 |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="ABCNEWS">{{cite news |last1=Courtney |first1=Pip |title=Bunya nuts: The Australian bush food that is growing in popularity |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-12/australian-native-bunya-nuts-great-camp-food-and-bush-tucker/9751602 |website=ABC News |date=11 May 2018 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="TELLA">{{cite journal |last1=Tella |first1=José L. |last2=Blanco |first2=Guillermo |last3=Dénes |first3=Francisco V. |last4=Hiraldo |first4=Fernando |title=Overlooked Parrot Seed Dispersal in Australia and South America: Insights on the Evolution of Dispersal Syndromes and Seed Size in ''Araucaria'' Trees |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |date=2019 |volume=7 |article-number=82 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2019.00082 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019FrEEv...7...82T |hdl=10261/189985 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name="PFAF">{{cite web |title=Araucaria bidwillii - Hook. |url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Araucaria+bidwillii |website=Plants for a Future |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="HERNANDEZ">{{cite journal |last1=Hernandez-Castillo |first1=Genaro R. |last2=Stockey |first2=Ruth A. |title=Palaeobotany of the Bunya Pine |journal=Queensland Review |date=2002 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=25–30 |doi=10.1017/S1321816600002920 |s2cid=142881356 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255664577 |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="ACS">{{cite web |title=''Araucaria bidwillii'' / Bunya pine |url=https://conifersociety.org/conifers/araucaria-bidwillii/ |website=American Conifer Society |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="Heap1965">{{cite journal |author=E. G. Heap |title=In the Wake of the Raftsmen: A Survey of Early Settlement in the Maroochy District up to the Passing of Macalister's Act (1868) [Part I] |journal=Queensland Heritage |volume=1 |number=3 |pages=3–16 |year=1965 |url=https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:242691/Qld_heritage_v1_no3_1965_p3_16.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="HAEBICH">{{citation |author=Anna Haebich |title=Assimilating the bunya forests |date=2005 |url=http://www.environmentalhistory-au-nz.org/links/publications/anzfh/anzfh2haebich.pdf |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref><!--

<ref name="ANZFH">{{cite book |title=Australia and New Zealand Forest Histories |date=2005 |publisher=Australian Forest History Society Inc. |location=Kingston, ACT |isbn=0 9757906 1 7 |url=https://www.foresthistory.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/anzfh2entire.pdf |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref> -->
}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|35em}}
* Haines R. J. (1983) Embryo development and anatomy in ''Araucaria'' Juss. Australian Journal of Botany. 31, 125–140.
* Haines R. J. (1983) Seed development in ''Araucaria'' Juss. Australian Journal of Botany. 31, 255–267.
* Hernandez-Castillo, G. R., Stockey R. A.(2002) Palaeobotany of the Bunya Pine In (Ed. Anna Haebich) ppl 31–38. 'On the Bunya Trail' Queensland Review – Special Edition, Volume 9, No. 2, November 2002 (University of Queensland Press: St Lucia).
* Petrie C. C.  (ed) (1904), Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of Early Queensland (Brisb, 1904)
* Pye M.G., Gadek P. A. (2004) Genetic diversity, differentiation and conservation in ''Araucaria bidwillii'' (Araucariaceae), Australia's Bunya pine. Conservation Genetics. 5, 619–629.
* Smith I. R., Withers K., Billingsley J. (2007) Maintaining the Ancient Bunya Tree (''Araucaria bidwillii'' Hook.) – Dispersal and Mast Years. 5th Southern Connection Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, 21–25 January 2007.
* Smith I. R. (2004) Regional Forest Types-Southern Coniferous Forests In 'Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences' (eds. Burley J., Evans J., Youngquist J.) Elsevier: Oxford. pp 1383–1391.
* Smith I. R., Butler D (2002) The Bunya in Queensland's Forests, In (Ed. Anna Haebich) pp.&nbsp;31–38. 'On the Bunya Trail' Queensland Review – Special Edition, Volume 9, No. 2, November 2002 (University of Queensland Press: St Lucia).
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Araucaria+bidwillii#tab_mapView View a map] of historical sightings of this species at the [[Australasian Virtual Herbarium]]
* [https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations?taxon_id=136231 View observations] of this species on [[iNaturalist]]
* [https://flickriver.com/search/Araucaria+bidwillii View images] of this species on [[Flickriver]]
* [https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/bountiful-bunyas-charismatic-tree-fascinating-history Bountiful bunyas : a charismatic tree with a fascinating history], Stacey Larner, John Oxley Library Blog. State Library of Queensland.

{{Nuts}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q782275}}

[[Category:Araucaria|bidwillii]]
[[Category:Flora of Queensland]]
[[Category:Flora of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Bushfood]]
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Pinales of Australia]]
[[Category:Trees of Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal bushcraft]]
[[Category:Least concern flora of Australia]]
[[Category:Least concern biota of Queensland]]
[[Category:Trees of mild maritime climate]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Australia]]
[[Category:Ornamental trees]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of Queensland]]