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Summary

Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree, is a critically endangered species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a pine, it does not belong in the genus Pinus.

Description

A very young A. angustifolia

It is an evergreen tree usually growing to 40 m (130 ft) tall and 1 m (3.3 ft) diameter at breast height. The tree is fast growing; as much as 16 m (52 ft) in 14 years in a plantation at Puerto Piray, Misiones Province, Argentina. The leaves are thick, tough and scale like, triangular, 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 in) long, 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) broad at the base, and with razor-sharp edges and tip. They persist 10 to 15 years, so cover most of the tree except for the trunk and older branches. The bark is uncommonly thick, up to 15 cm (6 in) deep. The inner bark and resin from the trunk of the tree is reddish.

It is usually dioecious, with the male and female cones on separate trees, but occasionally there are also individuals who are monoecious. The male (pollen) cones are oblong, 6 cm (2.4 in) long at first, expanding to 10–18 cm (4–7 in) long by 15–25 mm (0.6–1.0 in) broad at pollen release. Like all conifers it is wind pollinated. The female cones (seed), which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 18–25 cm (7–10 in) in diameter, and hold about 100–150 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the approximately 5 cm (2 in) long nut-like seeds, which are then dispersed by animals, notably the azure jay, Cyanocorax caeruleus.

It can be distinguished from its close relative A. araucana (found further southwest in South America), by its narrower leaves, seed with a much shorter bract scale, brown inner bark and white resin.

Similar species

It can be distinguished from its close relative A. araucana...