Agathis dammara Seeds | Amboyna Pine
LATIN NAME: Agathis dammara
COMMON NAME: Amboyna Pine, Manila Copal
Plant Profile
Amboyna Pine is a tall, clean-boled conifer of the Moluccas, Sulawesi and the Philippines, reaching thirty to forty metres with a broad, uneven crown of leathery, opposite leaves. It is the classic source of Manila copal, the resin that hardened into the varnish of the nineteenth-century paint trade. The species name comes from dammar, the Malay word for the resin itself, which is a fair summary of what the tree has meant to commerce.
It grows in humid lowland forest on deep, well-drained soil, and it tolerates a wide range of rainfall as long as the ground never stays wet. In its native range it is often left standing when forest is cleared, because the resin crop is worth more than the timber.
Science & Biotechnology
Agathis dammara is one of the Malesian kauris, and its limits against A. borneensis and A. celebica have been argued over for a century. The cone scales and the shape of the seed wing carry most of the diagnostic weight, and molecular work has largely supported the traditional split.
Copal from this species is a diterpenoid resin with a high proportion of agathic acid, and its chemistry was worked out in the colonial varnish laboratories. The tree also matters in forest hydrology: its deep litter layer and coarse roots slow runoff on steep volcanic slopes, which is why it features in watershed planting programmes.
Uses & Benefits
Resin, timber and shade, in that order of historical importance. Copal was used for varnish, printing ink and incense, and the trade shaped ports and labour systems across the archipelago. The wood is light, workable and resistant enough for boat building and furniture.
As a garden tree it needs space and warmth; in the tropics it is planted along avenues and in parks, where the symmetrical young crown gives way to something more irregular and characterful with age. It is not a plant for cool climates, and it will not survive a frost.
Growing from Seed
Use fresh seed and sow it at once: the embryo dies if the seed dries. Press it into a mix of coir, grit and compost, cover lightly, and keep at twenty-five to thirty degrees with the humidity of a shaded nursery. Germination takes four to eight weeks and is rarely complete.
Seedlings need bright, filtered light rather than full sun for the first season, and a deep pot for the taproot. Feed lightly, since the species comes from poor soils and rich compost encourages soft growth. Plant out at the start of the wet season, in free-draining ground, and mulch widely without touching the collar.
Our Take
The resin tree of the old varnish trade, still a fine tropical specimen. Fresh seed and warm, humid conditions are the whole of the technique. Remember too that the resin that made the tree famous seeps from any wound, so prune little and keep the sap off your hands.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Amboyna Pine often pair it with these related subjects: