The Araucaria Family: Past & Present

Monkey puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana) in habitat on volcanic slopes in Chile. Photograph by RGT
The ancient araucaria family (Araucariaceae) contains three genera (Araucaria, Agathis, and Wollemia) and forty-one species of cone-bearing trees native to forested regions of the Southern Hemisphere, including South America, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. During the Jurassic Period, the family had an extensive distribution in both hemispheres, extending as far north as England, Greenland, and Sweden. In majestic size and beauty, araucariads rival the grander members of the pine family (Pinaceae); both families are conifers (Pinophyta). Fossil evidence indicates that ancient araucaria forests resembling present-day species date back to the age of dinosaurs. Today, araucaria forests are limited to the Southern Hemisphere and are considered a counterpart to the pine and spruce forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Although sometimes referred to as “pines,” members of the araucaria family have seed cones and foliage that are distinctly different from those of the pine family. Trees in the pine fa...