{"slug":"araucaria-angustifolia","scientific_name":"Araucaria angustifolia","common_names":["Paraná pine","Brazilian pine","Araucária","Pinheiro-do-Paraná","Candelabra tree"],"family":"Araucariaceae","type":"conifer","mature_height_m":30,"mature_spread_m":15,"growth_rate":"medium","lifespan_years":300,"hardiness_zones":[9,9],"sun":"full","water":"medium","soil":"Deep, well-drained soils in cool subtropical highlands at 500 to 1,500 m; tolerates light frost","native_range":"Native to the southern Brazilian highlands (Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and locally São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro), Misiones in north-east Argentina and eastern Paraguay.","description":"An unmistakable conifer, 25 to 35 m tall, whose branches rise like a candelabra to a flat crown, with sharp scale-like leaves and large cones of edible pinhão seeds sold at roadsides every winter. It once covered some 20 million hectares of the Atlantic Forest; logging reduced that by over 97 per cent and it is IUCN Critically Endangered, with logging now banned in Brazil. Planting it is encouraged in restoration and on farms, where the seeds and the azure jay (gralha-azul) that plants them are cultural icons.","care":"Plant in full sun in cool, frost-prone highland sites with good drainage; water through the first two summers. Growth is moderate. No pruning needed. Seed is recalcitrant and must be sown fresh. Do not cut mature trees without a permit; natural regeneration can be poor without seed dispersers.","benefits":["edible","long_lived","wildlife","birds","carbon","shade"],"uses":["reforestation","food","parks","timber","agroforestry"],"cautions":["heavy_litter","large_roots"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Arauc%C3%A1ria_da_serra_ga%C3%BAcha.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Araucária_da_serra_gaúcha.jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php","https://www.gbif.org/species/206570245"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/araucaria-angustifolia","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/araucaria-angustifolia.md","regions":[{"country":"AR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Misiones","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/206570245"},{"country":"BR","region":"MG","locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Local","source_url":"https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php"},{"country":"BR","region":"PR","locality":null,"status":"native","note":"IUCN Critically Endangered; logging banned","source_url":"https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php"},{"country":"BR","region":"RS","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php"},{"country":"BR","region":"SC","locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php"},{"country":"BR","region":"SP","locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Local","source_url":"https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php"},{"country":"PY","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/206570245"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}