Agathis spathulata is a species of Agathis

Agathis

The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small genus of 21 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers, a group once widespread during the Jurassic period, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for...

native to the highlands of eastern Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, occurring at altitudes of 900-1980 m. Although long known, it has only relatively recently (1980) been distinguished from Agathis robusta

Agathis robusta

Agathis robusta is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae, native to eastern Queensland, Australia...

, being described first as a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of it, Agathis robusta subsp. nesophila Whitm., and subsequently separated as a distinct species Agathis spathulata in 1988. It is threatened by habitat loss.

It is a large evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 growing up to 60 m tall. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are in decussate opposite pairs, 7-10 cm long and 18-30 mm broad on mature trees, up to 13 cm long and 45 mm broad on young trees. The cones

Conifer cone

A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...

are oval, 8.5-10 cm long and 6.5-7.5 cm diameter, and disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds.