Araucaria araucana

Botanical Description

Araucaria araucana is an evergreen coniferous tree of unique appearance with its branches produced in regular tiers of five to seven and its short, spiny leaves that clasp the stems even in death; it can grow more than 30 metres tall. The tree has a pyramidal crown when young, often cloaked to the ground for many years when grown in the open, becoming more rounded with age. The bole is straight and cylindrical, forest-grown trees can be free of branches for up to 18 - 27metres and 90cm or more in diameter[ 11 Title Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Publication Author Bean. W. Publisher Murray Year 1981 ISBN - Description A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures. , 341 Title South American Timbers: the Properties, Uses and Characteristics of 190 Species. Publication Author Bolza. E. & Christensen. F.J. Publisher Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Year 1979 ISBN 0 643 02582 0 Description A very useful guide. ]. The tree is commonly harvested from the wild for its seed and its wood. The seed forms a staple food for the native people in regions where it grows in Chile, it is also sold in local markets there[ 46 Title Dictionary of Economic Plants. Publication Author Uphof. J. C. Th. Publisher Weinheim Year 1959 ISBN - Description An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader. , 139 Title Flora of Chile. (in Spanish) Publication Author ? Publisher Year ISBN Description Some information about the useful plants of Chile. ]. International trade in the seed and timber is prohibited by CITES regulations. This tree has an excellent potential to become a commercial crop in mild maritime regions of the temperate zone, where it has been shown to produce seed regularly and abundantly[ 11 Title Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Publication Author Bean. W. Publisher Murray Year 1981 ISBN - Description A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures. , 80 Title Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Publication Author McMillan-Browse. P. Publisher Grower Books Year 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6 Description Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading. ]. The tree is sometimes grown in plantations in its native range, mainly as a timber crop. It is often grown as an ornamental - unfortunately this is usually as a single, specimen tree and so, since it is dioecious, it cannot produce seed. About 60% of the Argentine Araucaria forests remain after deforestation, and these forests are under continual threat and degradation from fire, logging and overgrazing. The frequency of fires has increased during the 20th century in order to establish agricultural and livestock activities and this has resulted in severe fragmentation of the forests. Today the most obvious sign of forest degradation is the lack of natural regeneration that, under normal conditions, follows a ‘pulse’ pattern of highly productive seed years followed by less productive ones. Many forests are subject to intensive human use in the form of seed collecting and animal grazing, Araucaria trees are poor at regenerating, and any regeneration that does occur is principally asexual with trees sprouting from roots. There are severe threats to Araucaria araucana in the north of its range in Argentina, due to the establishment of plantations of exotic tree species within these native stands. In Chile the main threat is anthropogenic fires: large areas in several national parks have been destroyed within the last 25 years. The plant is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].