araucaria

American  

[ar-aw-kair-ee-uh] / ˌær ɔˈkɛər i ə /

noun

1. any of several coniferous trees of the genus Araucaria, of warm regions.

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araucaria British  

/ ˌærɔːˈkɛərɪə /

noun

1. any tree of the coniferous genus Araucaria of South America, Australia, and Polynesia, such as the monkey puzzle and bunya-bunya

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Other Word Forms

• araucarian adjective

Etymology

Origin of araucaria

1825–35; < New Latin, named after Arauc ( o ) province in central Chile; -aria

Example Sentences

Back on the black volcanic field crossed by the Truful Truful, as a snowstorm approached a nearby peak with thousand-year-old araucaria trees, Curin defined his people’s goal in more essential terms.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 19, 2022

As DePalma worked around the paddlefish, more of the araucaria branch came to light, including its short, spiky needles.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 29, 2019

As more of it was exposed, we could clearly see that the fish’s two-foot-long snout had broken when it was forced—probably by the flood’s surge—against the branches of a submerged araucaria tree.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 29, 2019

And they don't have the flamboyant crowns of the araucaria.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2015

There was a weird-looking araucaria that stood out strangely with large regular arms resembling reptiles grafted one on the other, and bristling with imbricated leaves that suggested the scales of an excited serpent.

From Abbe Mouret's Transgression by Zola, Émile