Agathis robusta, commonly known as the Queensland kauri (pine) or smooth-barked kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Although sometimes called a pine it is not a true pine, having leaves rather than needles. It has a disjunct distribution, occurring in Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia. Populations in Papua New Guinea may be treated as the distinct species Agathis spathulata. Description Agathis robusta is a large evergreen tree with a straight cylindrical trunk which can often reach a height of , and occasionally . The trunk is usually around diamater at breast height (DBH), but occasionally may reach . The bark is orange-brown to grey-brown, smooth, but shedding in large flakes. The linear-elliptic leaves are up to long and wide, with numerous fine parallel veins and no midrib. They are carried on petioles measuring and are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely whorls of three) on the stem. The globose, green seed cones measure diameter with up to 440 scales, and mature in 18–20 months after pollination. They disintegrate at maturity to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are cylindrical, long and diameter. Taxonomy The Queensland kauri was first described as Dammara robusta in 1859 by the German born Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller and published in the journal Quarterly Journal and Transactions of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria. In 1883 the Colonial Botanist of Queensland Frederick Manson Bailey published a paper in which he gave the species its current binomial name Agathis robusta. Subspecies There are two recognised subspecies , namely Agathis robusta ssp. nesophila Whitmore, which is restricted to New Guinea and New Britain, and the autonymous subspecies Agathis robusta ssp. robusta. Etymology The genus name Agathis is from the Ancient Greek word ἀγαθίς, "ball of thread", a reference to the appearance of the female cones (seed cones). The species epithet is derived from the Latin word rōbustus meaning "robust". Distribution and habitat Agathis robusta occurs in three distinct locations — a southern population in southeast Queensland in the regions around Gympie, Maryborough, and K'gari (Fraser Island); another population in northeast Queensland in the regions from Ingham to Cooktown, including the Atherton Tablelands; and the third in New Guinea. The north Queensland population was formerly recognised as Agathis palmerstonii, but is now considered to be synonymous with the southern grouping. The species grows in rainforest on well drained soils of various types, at altitudes up