# Paraná pine (Araucaria angustifolia)

> 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.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/araucaria-angustifolia · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Brazilian pine, Araucária, Pinheiro-do-Paraná, Candelabra tree
- Family: Araucariaceae
- Type: Conifer
- Mature height: 30 m; spread 15 m
- Growth: Medium growth; lives about 300 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 9 to 9
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Moderate water
- 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.

**Benefits:** Edible, Long lived, Wildlife, Birds, Stores carbon well, Shade

**Good for:** Reforestation, Food, parks, Timber, Agroforestry

**Watch out for:** Heavy litter, Large roots

## 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.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Argentina (Misiones); MG, Brazil (Local); PR, Brazil (IUCN Critically Endangered; logging banned); RS, Brazil; SC, Brazil; SP, Brazil (Local); Paraguay

## Sources

- https://www.conifers.org/ar/Araucaria_angustifolia.php
- https://www.gbif.org/species/206570245