History and magickal uses for the Araucaria Bidwillii (Bunya Pine Tree)

This tree is a large evergreen tree and was colloquially 
named the Bunya Pine by the Europeans. It is actually not a pine tree but belongs to the family of the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) and is also known as the ‘false monkey puzzle’. The scientific name honours the botanist John Carne Bidwill, who sent the first specimens to Sir William Hooker in 1843. The aborigines have various names for it including bunya, bonye, bunyi and bunya-bunya.

It is native to South East Queensland however can also be found in areas of NSW, WA and there just so happens to be a beautiful specimen growing in South Gippsland, Victoria. The Bunya Pine is the last surviving species of the Section Bunya of the genus Araucaria. This section was diverse and widespread during the Mesozoic with some species having cone morphology similar to A. bidwillii, which appeared during the Jurassic.

A. Bidwillii has a limited distribution within Australia because of the drying out of Australia with loss of rainforest and poor seed dispersal. The remaining sites at Mount Lewis in Queensland and the Bunya Mountains have genetic diversity.

The cones of the Bunya Pine are large, soft-shelled and nutritious and fall unbroken to the ground

beneath the tree before dehiscing. The suggestion that extinct large animals – perhaps dinosaurs and large mammals – may have been carriers for the Bunya is reasonable, given the seed size and energy content.

The Bunya tree grows to a height of 30–45 meters, the trunk often reaching widths of 1 – 1 ½ metres, and the cones (which contain the edible kernels) are the size of footballs. The ripe cones fall to the ground. Each segment contains a kernel in a tough protective shell, which will split when boiled or put in a fire. The flavour of the kernel is similar to a chestnut.

The Bunya trees pollinate in South East Queensland in September, October and the cones fall 17 to 18 months later in late January to early March from the coast to the current Bunya Mountains. When there is heavy rainfall or drought, pollination may vary. An important aspect of indigenous life was the Bunya Nut Festival. This festival was held in the land of the Jarowair tribe every 2 to 3 years or whenever the nuts were abundant. It is estimated that at least 14 different Aboriginal dialects would have been represented at the festival. The festival was important as it was a time for the tribes of Southern Queensland to conduct important business including:

• -      items, food, information and new knowledge were traded and shared;
• -      cultural, social and kinship obligations were observed and arranged;
• -      disputes and complaints were resolved;
• -      ceremonies were conducted and future events organised; and
• -      conduct initiation ceremonies and corroborees
• -      songs, stories and dances, were swapped between groups to be taken home to their own people
• -      feast on the bunya nuts.

Due to the massive size and age of these trees, they were considered sacred guardians of tribes and were seen as protective of the tribes. Seen as masculine in energies due to the elder status its size, growth pattern and amount of time it took for the fruit to ripen. It was considered an act of war if members of another tribe took fruit from another tribe’s tree without permission. The Aborigines’ fierce protection of the trees and recognition of the value of the timber, led to colonial authorities prohibiting settlers from cutting the trees in the 1842.

Indigenous Australians eat the nut of the bunya tree both raw and cooked (roasted, and in more recent times boiled), and also in its immature form. Traditionally, the nuts were additionally ground and made into a paste, which was eaten directly or cooked in hot coals to make bread. The nuts were also stored in the mud of running creeks, and eaten in a fermented state. This was considered a delicacy.  Apart from consuming the nuts, Indigenous Australians ate bunya shoots, and utilized the tree's bark as kindling.  Its most popular use is as a 'bush food'.

Bunya is a tree of great significance in Australian native culture.  Although there are no known medicinal uses of this tree; it is where one can enjoy the company of fellow man in festival, hunting, feasting and corroboree.  It is a divine place of spiritual significance where man can truly share with The Great Mother.

When looking at defining this specimen for magickal purposes, we look to the various distinctive physical characteristics as well the cultural significances mentioned earlier. We see the Bunya Nut Tree as being masculine and can be used (with permission) for majestic staffs, wands requiring masculine energy. Strength, resilience, patience, protection are other magickal aspects of this wondrous ancient Australian tree.