The monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) is a large evergreen tree with a distinctive shape – its often horizontal branches are covered in spirals of sharp, triangular leaves. When mature, trees produce large cones at the tips of the branches.
Also known as the Chile pine, the monkey puzzle tree is native to Chile and Argentina. The seeds, similar to large pine nuts, were long part of the staple diet of the indigenous people of the region.
The tree dates back 200 million years, which means it was around in the dinosaur (Mesozoic) Era. It’s thought that the sharp leaves protected the tree from being eaten by dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals.
The monkey puzzle tree was introduced to the UK at the end of the 18th Century and was a favourite with the Victorians. It’s thought it got its common name when a guest saw a tree at a country estate in Cornwall and remarked that it would be a ‘puzzler’ even for a monkey to climb.
While the monkey puzzle tree is a common sight in large gardens and parks in the UK (thanks to those Victorians) it’s now classed as an endangered species in its native habitat. Human interference in the form of heavy logging, forest fires and grazing from introduced animals has taken a heavy toll on the trees. It can take 40 years for the tree to produce seeds, so re-establishing them is a long-term challenge.
Conservation efforts in the UK have seen Chilean ‘forests’ of monkey puzzle trees planted at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s Wakehurst site in Sussex, the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Benmore Botanic Garden in Scotland. If you plant one in your garden, you will play your part in conserving a ‘living fossil’. The monkey puzzle tree is a slow grower, reaching 6m x 3m after 10 years.
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