What is Araucaria?
{{italic title}} {{Taxobox | fossil_range = [[Jurassic]] {{ndash}} [[Holocene|Recent]] | image = Araucaria_en_Parque_Nacional_Conguillio.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = ''Araucaria araucana'' | regnum = [[Plantae]] | divisio = [[Pinophyta]] | classis = [[Pinophyta|Pinopsida]] | ordo = [[Pinales]] | familia = [[Araucariaceae]] | genus = '''''Araucaria''''' | genus_authority = [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|Juss.]] | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = }} '''''Araucaria''''' is a [[genus]] of [[evergreen]] [[Conifer|coniferous]] [[trees]] in the family [[Araucariaceae]]. There are 19 [[species]] in the genus, with a scattered distribution in the southern continents. They are found in [[New Caledonia]] (where 13 species are endemic), Norfolk Island, eastern [[Australia]], [[New Guinea]], [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], and southern [[Brazil]]. The present populations are relicts, and of restricted distribution. They are found in [[forest]] and [[shrubland]], in exposed sites. These tall trees are [[living fossil]]s, dating back to early in the [[Mesozoic]] [[era]]. Fossil records show that the genus also formerly occurred in the northern hemisphere until the end of the [[Cretaceous]] period. By far the greatest diversity exists in New Caledonia, due to the island's long isolation and stability. == Description == ''Araucaria'' are mainly large trees with a massive erect stem, reaching a height of 30–80 m (16–262 ft). The horizontal, spreading branches grow in [[whorl]]s and are covered with leathery or needle-like leaves. In some species, the [[Leaf|leaves]] are narrow and shaped like a lance, barely overlapping each other, in others they are broad and flat, and overlap broadly. ''Aurucaria'' reproduces by [[Seed cone|seed cones]]. == Fossil record == [[File:Zweig der Andentannne.JPG|thumb|200px|Leaves of ''Araucaria araucana'']] The whole group was common in the [[Jurassic]] period. The living ''Araucaria araucana'' is often called the '''monkey-puzzle tree'''. The whole family '''Araucariaceae'