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Araucaria

 
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Araucaria
 
 
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Araucaria is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 coniferous
Pinophyta

The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxon within the Plant. They are Conifer cone-bearing seed plants with Vascular plant tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs....
 tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the family Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae

The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of conifers. They achieved maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when they existed almost worldwide....
. There are 19 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia
New Caledonia

New Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the Oceania. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands....
 (where 13 species are endemic
Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, Habitat type, nation, or other defined zone....
), Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external Territory ....
, eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
, and southern Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
.

caria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 30-80 m. The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
.






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Araucaria is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 coniferous
Pinophyta

The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxon within the Plant. They are Conifer cone-bearing seed plants with Vascular plant tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs....
 tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the family Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae

The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of conifers. They achieved maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when they existed almost worldwide....
. There are 19 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia
New Caledonia

New Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the Oceania. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands....
 (where 13 species are endemic
Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, Habitat type, nation, or other defined zone....
), Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external Territory ....
, eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
, and southern Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
.

Description

Araucaria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 30-80 m. The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
. 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 trees are mostly dioecious
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with male and female cones
Conifer cone

A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the plant sexuality structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds....
 found on separate trees, though occasional individuals are monoecious
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
 or change sex with time. The female cones, usually high on the top of the tree, are globose, and vary in size between species from 7-25 cm diameter. They contain 80-200 large, edible seeds, similar to pine nut
Pine nut

Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of value as a human food....
s though larger. The male cones are smaller, 4-10 cm long, and narrow to broad cylindrical, 1.5-5 cm broad.

Distribution

Many if not all current populations are relicts, and of restricted distribution. They are found in forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
 and maquis shrubland
Maquis shrubland

Maquis or macchia is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as Salvia, juniper and myrtle....
, with an affinity for exposed sites. These columnar trees are living fossil
Living fossil

Living fossil is an informal term for any living species of organism which appears to be the same as a species otherwise only known from fossils and which has no close living relatives....
s, dating back to early in the Mesozoic
Mesozoic

The Mesozoic Era is one of three Geologic time scale of the Phanerozoic eon . The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the 'Mesozoic' was 'Secondary' ....
 age. Fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
 records show that the genus also formerly occurred in the northern hemisphere until the end of the Cretaceous
Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide, is a geologic period from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period....
 period.

Uses

Some of the species are relatively common in cultivation because of their distinctive, formal symmetrical growth habit. Several species are economically important for timber
Timber

Timber may refer to:* Lumber, i.e. wood materials* Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Oregon* Timber , a 1984 arcade game by Bally Midway...
 production and the edible seeds.

Etymology of name

The genus is familiar to many people as the genus of the distinctive Monkey-puzzle
Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the Pinophyta genus Araucaria. It is native to central Chile and west central Argentina, and is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter....
 Araucaria araucana. The genus is named after the Arauco Indian
Mapuche

The Mapuche are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas inhabitants of Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina. They were known as Araucanians by the Spaniards....
s of central Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 and south-west Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
 whose territory incorporates natural stands of this species, where it is known as the Pehuén. These Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
, who name themselves the Pehuenche ('people of the Pehuén'), harvest the seeds extensively for food. No distinct vernacular name exists for the genus; many are erroneously called 'pine', despite their being only very distantly related to pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
s (Pinus).

Classification and species list

There are two sections in the genus, sometimes treated as separate genera:
  • Section Araucaria. Leaves broad; cones more than 12cm diameter; seed germination hypogeal
    Hypogeal

    Hypogeal means "underground".* In botany, a seed is described as hypogeal when the cotyledons of the germinate seed remain photosynthesis, inside the seed shell, and below ground....
    . Syn. sect. Columbea; sometimes subdivided into three sections or subsections.
    • Araucaria angustifolia
      Araucaria angustifolia

      Araucaria angustifolia is a species in the Pinophyta genus Araucaria. It is native to southern Brazil It is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 1 m trunk diameter....
      . Paraná Pine (obsolete: Brazilian Pine, Candelabra Tree). Southeastern Brazil, northeastern Argentina.
    • Araucaria araucana
      Araucaria araucana

      Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the Pinophyta genus Araucaria. It is native to central Chile and west central Argentina, and is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter....
      . Monkey-puzzle or Pehuén (obsolete: Chile Pine). Central Chile & western Argentina.
    • Araucaria bidwillii
      Araucaria bidwillii

      Araucaria bidwillii is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the genus Araucaria, family Araucariaceae. It is native to south-east Queensland with two small disjunct populations in northern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics, and many fine old specimens planted in New South Wales....
      . Bunya-bunya. Eastern Australia (sometimes placed in sect. Bunya).
    • Araucaria hunsteinii
      Araucaria hunsteinii

      Araucaria hunsteinii is a species of Araucaria native to the mountains of Papua New Guinea. It is threatened by habitat loss.It is a very large evergreen tree , growing to 50?80 m tall, exceptionally to 90 m, with a trunk up to 3 m diameter....
      . Klinki. New Guinea (sometimes placed in sect. Intermedia).
  • Section Eutacta. Leaves narrow, awl-like; cones less than 12cm diameter; seed germination epigeal
    Epigeal

    Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface.In botany, a seed is described as epigeal when the cotyledons of the germinate seed expand, throw off the seed shell and become photosynthesis above the ground....
    . See the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh web site for New Caledonian Araucaria research http://www.rbge.org.uk/rbge/web/science/research/biodiversity/arauc.jsp
    • Araucaria bernieri
      Araucaria bernieri

      Araucaria bernieri is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria biramulata
      Araucaria biramulata

      Araucaria biramulata is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria columnaris
      Araucaria columnaris

      Araucaria columnaris is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is native to New Caledonia....
      . Cook Pine. New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria cunninghamii
      Araucaria cunninghamii

      Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as Moreton Bay Pine, or Hoop Pine. Other less commonly used names include Colonial Pine, Richmond River Pine, Queensland Pine, Alloa, Ningwik, or Pien, the wood is sometimes called Arakaria)....
      . Moreton Bay Pine, Hoop Pine. Eastern Australia, New Guinea.
    • Araucaria heterophylla
      Araucaria heterophylla

      Araucaria heterophylla is a distinctive Pinophyta, a member of the ancient and now disjointly distributed family Araucariaceae. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island Pine implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia....
      . Norfolk Island Pine. Norfolk Island.
    • Araucaria humboldtensis
      Araucaria humboldtensis

      Araucaria humboldtensis is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria laubenfelsii
      Araucaria laubenfelsii

      Araucaria laubenfelsii is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria luxurians
      Araucaria luxurians

      Araucaria luxurians is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria montana
      Araucaria montana

      Araucaria montana is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria muelleri
      Araucaria muelleri

      Araucaria muelleri is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria nemorosa
      Araucaria nemorosa

      Araucaria nemorosa is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria rulei
      Araucaria rulei

      Araucaria rulei is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria schmidii
      Araucaria schmidii

      Araucaria schmidii is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria scopulorum
      Araucaria scopulorum

      Araucaria scopulorum is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.
    • Araucaria subulata
      Araucaria subulata

      Araucaria subulata is a species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family.It is found only in New Caledonia.It is threatened by habitat loss....
      . New Caledonia.


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