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Araucaria
Araucaria ( /ærɔːˈkɛəriə/; 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", although they are only distantly related to true pines, in the genus Pinus.
Araucaria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 5–80 metres (16–262 ft). The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves. 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 two South American species A. angustifolia and A. araucana are mostly dioecious, with male and female cones found on separate trees. The other species in the genus are monoecious. The female cones, on the top of the tree, are globose, and vary in size among species from 7 to 25 centimetres (3 to 10 in) in diameter. They contain 80–200 large edible seeds, similar to pine nuts, though larger. The male cones are smaller, 4–10 cm (1+1⁄2–4 in) long, narrow to broad cylindrical, and 1.5–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) broad.
The genus is named after the Spanish exonym Araucano ("from Arauco") applied to the Mapuche of south-central Chile and south-west Argentina, whose territory incorporates natural stands of a species in this genus identified as A. araucana; the Mapuche people call it pewen, and consider it sacred. Some Mapuche living in the Andes name themselves Pewenche ("people of the pewen") as they traditionally harvested the seeds extensively for food.
There are four extant sections and two extinct sections in the genus, sometimes treated as separate genera.
Genetic studies indicate that the extant members of the genus can be subdivided into two large clades – the first consisting of the sections Araucaria, Bunya, and Intermedia; and the second of the strongly monophyletic section Eutacta. Sections Eutacta and Bunya are both the oldest taxa of the genus, with Eutacta possibly older.
Araucaria bindrabunensis (previously classified under section Bunya) has been transferred to the genus Araucarites.
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Araucaria AI simulator
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Araucaria
Araucaria ( /ærɔːˈkɛəriə/; 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", although they are only distantly related to true pines, in the genus Pinus.
Araucaria are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 5–80 metres (16–262 ft). The horizontal, spreading branches grow in whorls and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves. 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 two South American species A. angustifolia and A. araucana are mostly dioecious, with male and female cones found on separate trees. The other species in the genus are monoecious. The female cones, on the top of the tree, are globose, and vary in size among species from 7 to 25 centimetres (3 to 10 in) in diameter. They contain 80–200 large edible seeds, similar to pine nuts, though larger. The male cones are smaller, 4–10 cm (1+1⁄2–4 in) long, narrow to broad cylindrical, and 1.5–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) broad.
The genus is named after the Spanish exonym Araucano ("from Arauco") applied to the Mapuche of south-central Chile and south-west Argentina, whose territory incorporates natural stands of a species in this genus identified as A. araucana; the Mapuche people call it pewen, and consider it sacred. Some Mapuche living in the Andes name themselves Pewenche ("people of the pewen") as they traditionally harvested the seeds extensively for food.
There are four extant sections and two extinct sections in the genus, sometimes treated as separate genera.
Genetic studies indicate that the extant members of the genus can be subdivided into two large clades – the first consisting of the sections Araucaria, Bunya, and Intermedia; and the second of the strongly monophyletic section Eutacta. Sections Eutacta and Bunya are both the oldest taxa of the genus, with Eutacta possibly older.
Araucaria bindrabunensis (previously classified under section Bunya) has been transferred to the genus Araucarites.