Araucaria ( ; original pronunciation: [a.ɾawˈka. ɾja]) is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were globally distributed. There are 20 extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemic, see New Caledonian Araucaria), eastern Australia (including Norfolk Island), New Guinea, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
The genus is familiar to many people as the genus of the distinctive Chilean pine or monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). No distinct vernacular name exists for the genus. Many are called "pine", such as the "Norfolk pine" (Araucaria heterophylla) although they are only distantly related to true pines, in the genus Pinus.
Description
Araucaria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 5–80 metres (16–262 ft). The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves. In some species, the leaves are narrow, awl-shaped, and lanceolate, barely overlapping each other; in others, they are broad and flat, and overlap broadly.
The two South American species A. angustifolia and A. araucana are mostly dioecious, with male and female cones found on separate trees. The other species in the genus are monoecious. The female cones, on the top of the tree, are globose, and vary in size among species from 7 to 25 centimetres (3 to 10 in) in diameter. They contain 80–200 large edible seeds, similar to pine nuts, though larger. The male cones are smaller,
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A. araucana with seed cones
A. columnaris sapling with distinctive apical bud
Taxonomy
The genus is named after the Spanish exonym Araucano ("from Arauco") applied to the Mapuche of south-central Chile and south-west Argentina, whose territory incorporates natural stands of a species in this genus identified as A. araucana; the...
