Araucariaceae

Araucaria

Araucaria

Genus of conifers in the family Araucariaceae native to the Southern Hemisphere, mainly South America, Australia, New Caledonia, and New Guinea. They are majestic, long-lived trees, relicts of the flora of the supercontinent Gondwana: their ancestors coexisted with dinosaurs in the Jurassic. They include the monkey puzzle or pehuén (A. araucana), the emblematic tree of Araucanía; the Australian bunya pine (A. bidwillii) with its gigantic cones; and the Norfolk Island pine (A. heterophylla), one of the most widely cultivated tropical ornamental trees in the world.