Everything about Araucaria Araucana totally explained
Araucaria araucana (
Pehuén or
Monkey-puzzle) is the hardiest species in the
conifer genus
Araucaria. It is native to central
Chile and west central
Argentina, and is an
evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter. Because of species' great age it's sometimes described as a
living fossil. Araucaria araucana is the
national tree of Chile.
The
leaves are thick, tough and scale-like, triangular, 3-4 cm long, 1-3 cm broad at the base, and with razor-sharp edges and tip. They persist for 10-15 years or more, so cover most of the tree except for the older branches.
It is usually
dioecious, with the male and female
cones on separate trees, though occasional individuals bear cones of both sexes. The male (pollen) cones are oblong and cucumber-shaped, 4 cm long at first, expanding to 8-12 cm long by 5-6 cm broad at pollen release. Like all conifers it's wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 12-20 cm diameter, and hold about 200 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the 3-4 cm long
nut-like seeds, which are then dispersed by
jays and
squirrels.
Its native habitat is the lower slopes of the Chilean and Argentinian south-central
Andes, typically above 1000 m, in regions with heavy snowfall in winter. Juvenile trees exhibit a broadly pyramidal or conical habit which naturally develops into the distinctive umbrella form of mature specimens as the tree ages. It prefers well drained, slightly acidic, volcanic
soil but will tolerate almost any soil type provided drainage is good.
First found in Chile in the 1780s, it was named
Pinus araucana by
Molina in 1782. In 1789,
de Jussieu had erected a new genus called
Araucaria based on the species, and in 1797
Pavón published a new description of the species which he called
Araucaria imbricata (an invalid name, as it didn't use Molina's older species epithet). Finally in 1873, after several further redescriptions, Koch published the combination
Araucaria araucana, validating Molina's name in the genus. The name
araucana is derived from the native Araucano People who used the nuts (seeds) of the tree in Chile.
Cultivation and uses
» :::It is a popular garden tree, planted for its unusual effect of the thick, 'reptilian' branches with a very symmetrical appearance. It prefers temperate climates with abundant rainfall, tolerating temperatures down to about −20 °C. It is far and away the hardiest member of its genus, and can grow well in western
Europe (north to the
Faroe Islands and
Ålesundin western
Norway), the west coast of
North America (north to the
Queen Charlotte Islands in
Canada) and locally on the east coast as well, and in
New Zealand and southeastern
Australia. It is tolerant of coastal salt spray, but doesn't like exposure to
pollution.
The seeds are edible, similar to large
pine nuts, and are extensively harvested in Chile. The tree has some potential to be a food crop in other areas in the future, thriving in climates with cool oceanic summers (for example western
Scotland) where other nut crops don't grow well. A group of six female trees with one male for pollination could yield several thousand seeds per year. Since the cones drop, harvesting is easy. The tree however doesn't yield seeds until it's around 30-40 years old, which discourages investment in planting orchards (although yields at maturity can be immense); once established, it can live possibly as long as 1,000 years (Gymnosperm Database). Once valued because of its long, straight trunk, its current rarity and vulnerable status mean its
wood is now rarely used; it's also sacred to some members of the
Mapuche Native American tribe (Lewington & Parker 1999).
Common names
The origin of the popular English name
Monkey-puzzle derives from its early cultivation in
Britain in about
1850, when the species was still very rare in gardens and not widely known. The proud owner of a young specimen at
Pencarrow garden near
Bodmin in
Cornwall was showing it to a group of friends, and one made the remark "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that"; as the species had no existing popular name, first 'monkey-puzzler', then 'monkey-puzzle' stuck (Mitchell 1996). As a practical exercise, a
monkey trying to climb one wouldn't be so much puzzled as injured by the spiky leaf points. In
France it's known as "désespoir des singes" or "monkey's despair". However, as monkeys are not found in the species' native range, the question doesn't arise. The species'
Mapuche name
Pehuén is now becoming more widely used as an alternative common name in English. Prior to 1850, it had been called "Joseph Bank's Pine" or "Chile Pine" in Britain, both somewhat confusing as it isn't a
pine.The spiky leaves of the monkey puzzle were never evolved to stop monkeys however, but rather to stop grazing dinosaurs eating it before it could grow out of their reach, such is the ancient age of this tree.
References and External links
Further Information
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