Araucaria angustifolia
, the Parana pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the
coniferThe conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority...
genus
AraucariaAraucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly large...
. It is native to southern
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(sometimes found in high-altitude areas of southern
Minas GeraisMinas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, the second most populous and fourth largest by area in the federation. The capital is the city of Belo Horizonte, located near the central area...
, southern
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro is one of the 26 states of Brazil.It is located in the Brazilian geopolitical region of the Southeast and its boundaries, all of them with other Brazilian states in the Southeast region , are with Minas Gerais ,...
and
São PauloSão Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. It is named after Saint Paul. São Paulo has the largest population, industrial park and economic production of the country. It is the most populous subnational entity in the Western...
, but more typically in the states of
ParanáParaná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
,
Santa Catarinais a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighboring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean,...
and
Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development Index in the country. In Rio Grande do Sul we can find the most southern city of the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay...
); the northeast of
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
(
MisionesMisiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
and
CorrientesCorrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. Its name means "currents" or "rapids" in Spanish...
)and locally in
ParaguayParaguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay , is one of the two landlocked countries which lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, the other being Bolivia, both in South America....
(
Alto ParanáAlto Paraná is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Ciudad del Este .The Alto Paraná department has experienced tremendous economic and population growth in the past 50 years...
) , growing in low
mountainA mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...
s at altitudes of 500–1800 meters.
It is an
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 40 m tall and 1 m trunk diameter.
Araucaria angustifolia
, the Parana pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the
coniferThe conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority...
genus
AraucariaAraucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly large...
. It is native to southern
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(sometimes found in high-altitude areas of southern
Minas GeraisMinas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, the second most populous and fourth largest by area in the federation. The capital is the city of Belo Horizonte, located near the central area...
, southern
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro is one of the 26 states of Brazil.It is located in the Brazilian geopolitical region of the Southeast and its boundaries, all of them with other Brazilian states in the Southeast region , are with Minas Gerais ,...
and
São PauloSão Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. It is named after Saint Paul. São Paulo has the largest population, industrial park and economic production of the country. It is the most populous subnational entity in the Western...
, but more typically in the states of
ParanáParaná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
,
Santa Catarinais a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighboring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean,...
and
Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development Index in the country. In Rio Grande do Sul we can find the most southern city of the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay...
); the northeast of
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
(
MisionesMisiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
and
CorrientesCorrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. Its name means "currents" or "rapids" in Spanish...
)and locally in
ParaguayParaguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay , is one of the two landlocked countries which lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, the other being Bolivia, both in South America....
(
Alto ParanáAlto Paraná is a department in Paraguay. The capital is Ciudad del Este .The Alto Paraná department has experienced tremendous economic and population growth in the past 50 years...
) , growing in low
mountainA mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...
s at altitudes of 500–1800 meters.
It is an
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 40 m tall and 1 m trunk diameter. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are thick, tough and scale like, triangular, 3-6 cm long, 5-10 mm broad at the base, and with razor-sharp edges and tip. They persist for 10–15 years, so cover most of the tree except for the trunk and older branches.
It is usually
dioeciousPlant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with the male and female
conesA cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
on separate trees. The male (pollen) cones are oblong, 60 cm long at first, expanding to 10-18 cm long by 15-25 mm 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 diameter, and hold about 100–150 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the approximately 5 cm long
nutNut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seeds or fruit of some plants. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts. Nuts are an important source of nutrients for both humans and...
-like seeds, which are then dispersed by animals, notably the
Azure JayThe Azure Jay is a passeriform bird of the crow family Corvidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest, especially with Araucaria angustifolia, in south-eastern Brazil , far eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina...
, Cyanocorax caeruleus
.
It is closely related to Araucaria araucanaAraucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer 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. Because of the species' great age it is sometimes described as a living fossil...
from further southwest in South America, differing most conspicuously in the narrower leaves.
It prefers well drained, slightly acidic
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
but will tolerate almost any soil type provided drainage is good. It requires a subtropical climate with abundant rainfall, tolerating occasional frosts down to about −5 °C to −8 °C. It is a popular garden tree in subtropical areas, planted for its unusual effect of the thick, 'reptilian' branches with a very symmetrical appearance.
The seeds, similar to large
pine nutPine 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 great value as a human food....
s, are edible, and are extensively harvested in southern Brazil (
ParanáParaná or Parana may refer to:*Paraná River, a river that flows through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina*Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay...
,
Santa CatarinaSanta Catarina is the name of several places :-Places:Brazil*Santa Catarina , one of that country's federal states...
e
Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development Index in the country. In Rio Grande do Sul we can find the most southern city of the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay...
States), a habit particularly important for the region's small population of
Native AmericanThe Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the arrival of Europeans around 1500...
s. The seeds, called pinhão
are popular as a winter snack. The city of LagesLages, formerly Lajens, is a Brazilian town located in the central part of the state of Santa Catarina, in the region known in Portuguese as "Planalto Serrano"....
, in Santa Catarina state, holds a popular pinhão
fair, in which hot wine and boiled araucaria seeds are consumed. In Brazil, 3,400 tonneA tonne or metric ton , also referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to , or approximately the mass of one cubic metre of water. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of seeds are collected annually which, combined with extensive loggingLogging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber.In forestry the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage...
, seriously threatens the regeneration of the species.
The seeds are very important for the native animals. Several mammals and birds eat pinhão
, and it has an important ecological role in Ombrophilous Mixed Forests (a sub-type of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest).
Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a "pine," it is not a true
pinePines are coniferous 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.-Distribution:...
.