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Araucaria family
Araucariaceae
ナンヨウスギ科
An ancient conifer family that flourished globally during the Mesozoic. Now restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, though fossils are widely found in the Northern Hemisphere. Not native to Japan but cultivated in parks and botanical gardens.
Key Characteristics
- ●Large cones and large seeds
- ●Leaves ovate to needle-like, spirally or oppositely arranged on branches
- ●Cones disintegrate at maturity to release seeds
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Needle / Ovate
Growth form
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Stipules
Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic
Petal fusion
No petals
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Gymnosperms > Conifers > Pinales > Araucariaceae
Divergence Era
Late Mesozoic Triassic to Jurassic (approx. 200 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Flourished in the Northern Hemisphere during the Mesozoic dinosaur era; retreated to the Southern Hemisphere after the late Cretaceous
- ・Wollemia nobilis, discovered in 1994, gained attention as a 'living fossil'
Plants in Araucaria family on this site
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