Araucaria araucana is an evergreen tree growing to 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in diameter and 30–40 m (100–130 ft) in height. It is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Because of the prevalence of similar species in ancient prehistory, it is sometimes called a living fossil. It is also the national tree of Chile. Its conservation status was changed to Endangered by the IUCN in 2013 due to the dwindling population caused by logging, forest fires, and grazing.
Araucariaceae – also known as araucarians – is a very ancient family of coniferous trees. The family achieved its maximum diversity during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide. Most of the Araucariaceae in the Northern Hemisphere vanished in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, and they are now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, except for a few species of Agathis in Southeast Asia.
Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Wollemia was known only through fossil records until the Australian species Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges 150 km (93 mi) northwest of Sydney. The genus is named after the National Park.
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant species in New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Papua (Indonesia), Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Paraguay.
A living fossil is an extant taxon that closely resembles organisms otherwise known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossils commonly are of species-poor lineages, but they need not be.
Araucaria bidwillii, commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Australia and two small disjunct populations in north eastern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. There are many old planted specimens in New South Wales, and around the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area. They can grow up to 30–45 m (98–148 ft). The tallest presently living is one in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland which was reported by Robert Van Pelt in January 2003 to be 169 feet (51.5 m) in height.
Araucaria heterophylla is a vascular plant in the ancient and now disjointly distributed conifer family Araucariaceae. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, about 1,440 km (890 mi) east of Sydney, Australia but is cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. The genus Araucaria occurs across the South Pacific, especially concentrated in New Caledonia where 13 closely related and similar-appearing species are found. It is sometimes called a star pine, Polynesian pine, triangle tree or living Christmas tree, due to its symmetrical shape as a sapling, although it is not a true pine.
The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous Maastrichtian in what is now southeastern Australia. This prevented permanent ice sheets from developing and fostered polar forests, which were largely dominated by conifers, cycads, and ferns, and relied on a temperate climate and heavy rainfall. Major fossil-bearing geological formations that record this area are: the Santa Marta and Sobral Formations of Seymour Island off the Antarctic Peninsula; the Snow Hill Island, Lopez de Bertodano, and the Hidden Lake Formations on James Ross Island also off the Antarctic Peninsula; and the Eumeralla and Wonthaggi Formations in Australia.
The biodiversity of New Caledonia is of exceptional biological and paleoecological interest. It is frequently referred to as a biodiversity hotspot. The country is a large South Pacific archipelago with a total land area of more than 18,000 square kilometres (6,900 sq mi). The terrain includes a variety of reefs, atolls, small islands, and a variety of topographical and edaphic regions on the largest island, all of which promote the development of unusually concentrated biodiversity. The region's climate is oceanic and tropical.
The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, part of the Australasian realm.
Agathis ovata, the mountain kauri, is a species of conifer, genus Agathis in the family Araucariaceae. It is found only on the southwest Pacific island of New Caledonia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Araucaria bernieri is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia at elevations below 700 meters, mainly in the southern part of the main island. It is a large tree reaching 40–50 meters in height, though specimens growing on poorer soil tend to be dwarfed. It is threatened by habitat loss with a wild population of less than 10,000 mature trees, and ongoing decline in remaining populations.
Araucaria columnaris, the coral reef araucaria, Cook pine, New Caledonia pine, Cook araucaria, or columnar araucaria, is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae.
Araucaria humboldtensis, or Humboldt's araucaria, is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia. It is threatened by habitat loss, as even though the remaining wild populations are located within protected park areas, an increased frequency of forest fires in recent years has led to continued degradation of habitat and increased dieback of mature trees.
Araucaria luxurians is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. It is known by the common names Sapin de Noël and Coast araucaria. It is endemic to New Caledonia, where it grows in several small subpopulations. It grows in ultramafic soils in humid forests and on cliffs and slopes. It is threatened by habitat loss and none of the subpopulations are in protected areas.
Araucaria subulata is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia, with scattered populations present across the central and southern mountain regions of the main island Grande Terre, especially on Mont Dzumac and Mont des Sources. It is one of the tallest of New Caledonia's endemic araucaria species, reaching up to 50 meters in height. Young trees, like the one in the picture, show simaler growth habits to the Norfolk Island Pine. It is threatened by habitat loss as with all of New Caledonia's araucaria trees, but populations of Araucaria subulata are currently considered to be stable and it was not found to be threatened or endangered when most recently assessed.
Banksia novae-zelandiae is an extinct species of Banksia, known only from fossil leaves found in the South Island of New Zealand.
Araucaria mirabilis is an extinct species of coniferous tree from Patagonia, Argentina. It belongs to the genus Araucaria.
Araucarites sanctaecrucis is an extinct coniferous tree from Patagonia, Argentina. Its exact affinities are unknown and it is currently assigned to the form genus Araucarites of the family Araucariaceae. A. sanctaecrucis are known from petrified fossils of branches, foliage, and cones from the Cerro Cuadrado Petrified Forest.
