Monkey puzzle tree Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Monkey puzzle tree

Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification

Araucaria araucana (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (100–130 ft). It is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Because of the prevalence of similar species in ancient prehistory, it is sometimes called a living fossil. It is also the national tree of Chile. Its conservation status was changed to Endangered by the IUCN in 2013 due to the dwindling population caused by logging, forest fires, and grazing.

Description
Habitat
Seed dispersal
Threats
Cultivation and uses
Naming
Gallery
See also

Description

The leaves of A. araucana

A young specimen

The leaves are thick, tough, and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm (1+1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) long, 1–3 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4 in) broad at the base, and with sharp edges and tips. According to Lusk, the leaves have an average lifespan of 24 years and 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 (1+1⁄2 in) long at first, expanding to 8–12 cm (3–4+1⁄2 in) long by 5–6 cm (2–2+1⁄2 in) broad at pollen release. It is wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 12–20 cm (4+1⁄2–8 in) in diameter, and hold about 200 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the 3–4 cm (1+1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) long nut-like seeds.

The thick bark of Araucaria araucana may be an adaptation to wildfire.

Habitat

Distribution map of A. araucana in central Chile

The tree’s native habitat is the lower slopes of the Chilean and Argentine south-central Andes, typically above 1,000 m (3,300 ft). 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 it drains well.

Seed dispersal

Araucaria araucana is a masting species, and rodents are important consumers and dispersers of its seeds. The long-haired grass mouse, Abrothrix longipilis, is the most important animal responsible for dispersing the seeds of A. araucana. This rodent buries seeds whole in locations favorable for seed germination, unlike other animals.

Threats

Logging, long a major threat, was finally banned in 1990. Large fires burned thousands of acres of Araucaria forest in 2001–2002, and areas of national parks have also burned, destroying trees over 1300 years old. Overgrazing and invasive trees are also threats. Extensive human harvesting of piñones (Araucaria seeds) can prevent new trees from growing. A Global Trees Campaign project that planted 2000 trees found a 90 percent 10-year survival rate.

Cultivation and uses

Araucaria araucana is a popular garden tree, planted for the unusual effect of its thick, "reptilian" branches with very symmetrical appearance. It prefers temperate climates with abundant rainfall, tolerating temperatures down to about −20 °C (−4 °F). It is far and away the hardiest member of its genus, and can grow well in western and central Europe (north to the Faroe Islands and Smøla in western Norway), the west coast of North America (north to Baranof Island in Alaska), and locally on the east coast, as far north as Long Island, and in New Zealand,southeastern Australia and south east Ireland. It is tolerant of coastal salt spray, but does not tolerate exposure to pollution.

The piñones are similar to pine nuts, but larger; these roasted seeds are 3 cm and 5 cm long, from two different cultivars.

Its piñones, or seeds, are edible, similar to large pine nuts, and are harvested by indigenous peoples in Argentina and Chile. The tree has some potential to be a food crop in other areas in the future, thriving in climates with cool oceanic summers, e.g., western Scotland, where other nut crops do not 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, does not yield seeds until it is around 30 to 40 years old, which discourages investment in planting orchards (although yields at maturity can be immense); once established, individuals can achieve ages beyond 1,000 years. Pest losses to rodents and feral Sus scr⁷ofa limits the yields for human consumption and forage fattening of livestock by A. araucana mast. A. araucana has a high degree of inter-year variability in mast volume, and this variation is synchronous within a given area. This evolved to take advantage of predator satiety.

Once valued because of its long, straight trunk, its current rarity and vulnerable status mean its wood is now rarely used; it is also sacred to some members of the Mapuche Native American tribe. Before the tree became protected by law in 1971, lumber mills in Araucanía Region specialized in Chilean pine.

The species is protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international trade (including in parts and derivatives) is regulated by the CITES permitting system and commercial trade in wild sourced specimens is prohibited.

Naming

A monkey puzzle tree at Salesforce Park, San Francisco

The silhouette of the araucaria is very recognizable and has become a symbol for the southern regions of Argentina and Chile. For example, araucarias appear on the coats of arms of Neuquén Province and Araucanía Region.

First identified by Europeans in Chile in the 1780s, it was named Pinus araucana by Molina in 1782. In 1789, de Jussieu 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 illegitimate name, as it did not use Molina's older species epithet). Finally, in 1873, after several further redescriptions, Koch published the combination Araucaria araucana, validating Molina's species name. The name araucana is derived from the native Araucanians who used the nuts (seeds) of the tree in Chile. A group of Araucanians living in the Andes, the Pehuenches, owe their name to their diet based on the harvesting of the A. araucaria seeds. Pehuen means Araucaria and che means people in Mapudungun.

The origin of the popular English language 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. Sir William Molesworth, the owner of a young specimen at Pencarrow garden near Bodmin in Cornwall, was showing it to a group of friends, when one of them – the noted barrister and Benthamist Charles Austin – remarked, "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that". As the species had no existing popular name, first "monkey puzzler", then "monkey puzzle" stuck.