Araucaria is a genus of conifers now restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, surviving mainly in parts of Australasia and South America. But in the Mesozoic era, Araucaria was one of the most widespread and iconic trees on Earth, already well established by the Middle Jurassic across both Laurasia and Gondwana.

Although the best-known living species is the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) of South America, most Mesozoic Araucaria species more closely resembled the smaller-leaved species found today in Australia and New Caledonia. Several whole-plant fossils, such as Araucaria mirabilis and Araucaria delevoryasii, show branches with scale-like leaves (assigned to Brachyphyllum or Pagiophyllum) ending in compact, rounded cones.

Remarkably, multiple fossil forests from the Jurassic preserve entire Araucaria-dominated ecosystems, with trees still standing upright where they once grew. These ancient forests show that Araucaria often formed open woodlands on well-drained soils. Some fossil trunks reach over 60 metres tall and may have grown as high as 100 metres, making them among the tallest trees of the time.