Hi,
This is my first thread :)
Could anyone tell me whether the tree at the forefront right is an Araucaria Bidwillii or a Araucaria Hunsteinii? they are very similar... at the background there is an old Araucaria Heterophilla, a very popular tree in Portugal and specially at Sintra, where I took the photo (Quinta de Penaferrim at S. Pedro de Sintra, you can see Lisbon at a distance).
From the photos I have seen, their leaves are very similar. It seems to me that the Bidwillii tends to gain an oval shape at the top and loses the lower braches, while the Hunsteinii tends to keep the cone shape and is less prone to lose the lower branches. It seems their foliage is also less evenly distributed than the bidwillii. But of course, I am no specialist, this is what I have sorted out for myself after seeing lots of photographs.
I tend to think that it is a Hunsteinii, but I never saw a Hunsteinii in Portugal so, it might also be a Bidwillii that has lost its typical shape. I have been told that there was a similar tree besides this one that has fallen a couple of decades ago, so that both trees might have grown upwards more than usual in competition for light...
I love Araucariacea trees. I have the Angustifolia, Columnaris, Cunninghamii (or so I think!...), Wollemia nobilis...
I would love to trade Angustifolias (I have ten of them potted, grown from seed, 1 to 2 years old) for other rare Araucarias such as the hunsteinii!
Does anyone has some more hints on this subject?
Thanks!
Francisco
