Araucaria
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Araucaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Araucariaceae Genus: Araucaria
Species
19: see text

Araucaria is familiar to many people as the genus of the distinctive conifer the Monkey-puzzle, A. araucana. The genus is named after the Arauco Indians of central Chile whose territory incorporates natural stands of this species, where it is known as the Pehuén.

The genus has a highly disjunct distribution including such diverse regions as Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Australia, and New Guinea. It appears from fossil records to have formerly existed also in the northern hemisphere with many if not all current populations being relict and restricted.

There are about 19 species in this small genus, some of which are relatively common in cultivation because of their distinctive, regimented growth habit. They include the Norfolk Island pine (A. heterophylla), the Monkey-puzzle or Chile Pine (A. araucana) and the Bunya-bunya (A. bidwillii).

Full species list for Araucaria:

There are two sections in the genus, sometimes treated as separate genera:

• Section Araucaria. Leaves broad; cones more than 12cm diameter; seed germination hypogeal.
  • A. angustifolia
  • A. araucana
  • A. bidwillii
  • A. hunsteinii
• Section Eutacta. Leaves narrow, awl-like; cones less than 12cm diameter; seed germination epigeal.
  • A. bernieri
  • A. biramulata
  • A. columnaris
  • A. cunninghamii
  • A. heterophylla
  • A. humboldtensis
  • A. laubenfelsii
  • A. luxurians
  • A. montana
  • A. muelleri
  • A. nemorosa
  • A. rulei
  • A. schmidii
  • A. scopulorum
  • A. subulata

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Araucaria is the pseudonym used by the cryptic crossword compiler John Graham (compiler).

The original article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.