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Araucaria is a genus of large evergreen conifers, mostly trees with a massive upright trunk and whorled branches, grown for their formal symmetrical shape. The most familiar member is the Chilean pine or monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), and the Norfolk Island pine (A. heterophylla) is a common houseplant and garden tree.
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.
Members of Araucaria are found in Argentina, Brazil, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Australia, New Guinea, Chile and Papua (Indonesia). Many if not all current populations are relicts, and of restricted distribution. They are found in forest and maquis shrubland, with an affinity for exposed sites. The earliest records of the genus date to the Middle Jurassic, represented by Araucaria mirabilis of Argentina, and Araucaria sphaerocarpa from England. Fossil records show that the genus also formerly occurred in the northern hemisphere until the end of the Cretaceous period. A possible species of Araucaria may have existed in New Zealand as recently as 350,000 years ago. However, it is also possible that this fossil actually represents a specimen of Agathis. By far the greatest diversity exists in New Caledonia, likely due to a relatively recent adaptive radiation, as all New Caledonian species are more closely related to each other than they are to other Araucaria.
Some of the species are relatively common in cultivation because of their distinctive, formal symmetrical growth habit. Several species are economically important for timber production.
Paraná-pine · Monkey-puzzle · Bunya · Coral Reef Araucaria · Moreton Bay pine · Norfolk Island Araucaria
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Araucaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
