Dammara
(its native name in Amboyna). Dammar Pine. ORD. Coniferae. A genus of large handsome conifers. Leaves petiolate or almost sessile, sub-opposite and coriaceous. Cones ovate or globular, and axillary; scales persistent, bractless. The proper name of this genus is now Agathis, that name having been given by Salisbury long before Lambert published that of Dammara. There are about ten species hitherto described; they are natives of the Malayan Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and Eastern tropical Australia. All the species require a greenhouse temperature. Cuttings of ripe, firm shoots, inserted in sand, in spring, will root, in a gentle bottom heat. D. australis (Southern). Kauri Pine. l. linear-oblong, rarely elliptic, flat on both sides, from 1 1/2in. to 2 1/2in. long, and 1/2in. to 3/4in. broad at the widest part, thick, coriaceous, of a greenish-brown colour. Branches large, spreading, numerous, distant, smooth, divided into numerous smaller ones. h. 120ft. to 150ft. New Zealand, 1821.
D. obtusa (blunt-leaved). l. variable in shape, mostly oblong, rounded at the ends, 3 1/2in. to 4in. long, 1 1/4in. broad, thick, leathery, dark glossy green. h. 150ft. New Hebrides, 1851. The timber of this tree is extensively employed in shipbuilding.
D. orientalis (Eastern). Amboyna Pine. l. opposite, ovate-oblong, entire, glabrous, of a thick, coriaceous texture, from 2in. to 4in. long, and nearly 1 1/2in. broad at the widest part, straight, rarely falcate, smooth, dull green on both surfaces. Branches vertical, slightly reflexed, ascending at the extremities; branch-lets spreading. h. 100ft. Moluccas, 1804. A large tree, yielding the transparent resin called Dammar. (B. M. 5359.) There is a variety named alba, differing from the species in having much longer and more lanceolate leaves, with the edges more regularly rolled up on the under side, slightly undulated, whitish; the bark, also, is of a much whiter colour.