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''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 Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
genus ''
Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen Conifer, coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant taxon, extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemism, ende ...
''. 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

The
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are thick, tough, and scale-like, triangular, long, 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 Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, 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, long at first, expanding to long by broad at pollen release. It is wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, in diameter, and hold about 200 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the long
nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
-like seeds. The thick bark of ''Araucaria araucana'' may be an adaptation to wildfire.


Habitat

The tree’s native habitat is the lower slopes of the Chilean and Argentine south-central Andes, typically above . 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 Mast is the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts. The term derives from the Old English ''mæst'', meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used historically for fattening do ...
species, and rodents are important consumers and dispersers of its seeds. The long-haired grass mouse, ''
Abrothrix longipilis ''Abrothrix longipilis'', also known as the long-haired grass mouse or long-haired akodont,Musser and Carleton, 2005, p. 1089 is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in central and southern Argentina and Chile. The south ...
'', 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 Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
project that planted 2000 trees found a 90percent 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 . 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 Smøla is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hopen, other villages include Dyrnes, Råket, and Veiholmen. The municipality i ...
in western Norway), the west coast of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
(north to Baranof Island in Alaska), and locally on the east coast, as far north as
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, and in New Zealand,southeastern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and south east Ireland. It is tolerant of coastal
salt spray Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
, but does not tolerate exposure to pollution. 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 scrofa The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
'' limits the yields for human consumption and forage fattening of livestock by ''A. araucana''
mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio 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

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 Koch may refer to: People * Koch (surname), people with this surname * Koch dynasty, a dynasty in Assam and Bengal, north east India * Koch family * Koch people (or Koche), an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east ...
published the combination ''Araucaria araucana'', validating Molina's species name. The name ''araucana'' is derived from the native
Araucanians The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...
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 Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
. 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 Pencarrow ( kw, Pennkarow) is a listed building, Grade II*-listed country house in the civil parish of Egloshayle, in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles (5 km) east-southeast of Wadebridge and three miles ( ...
garden near
Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...
in Cornwall, was showing it to a group of friends, when one of them – the noted barrister and
Benthamist Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
Charles Austin Charles Allen Austin (born December 19, 1967) is an American athlete who won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was inducted into the United States Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2012. Currently, Ch ...
– remarked, "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that". As the species had no existing popular name, first "monkey puzzler", then "monkey puzzle" stuck.


Relatives

The nearest extant relative is ''
Araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the conifer genus '' Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a "pine", it d ...
'', a South American ''Araucaria'' from Brazil which differs in the width of the leaves. Members of other sections of the genus ''Araucaria'' occur in Pacific Islands and in Australia, and include ''Araucaria cunninghamii'',
hoop pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of '' Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist ...
, ''Araucaria heterophylla'', the
Norfolk Island pine ''Araucaria heterophylla'' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific ...
and ''Araucaria bidwillii'', bunya pine. The recently found 'Wollemi pine', '' Wollemia'', discovered in southeast Australia, is classed in the plant family Araucariaceae. Their common ancestry dates to a time when Australia, Antarctica, and South America were linked by land – all three continents were once part of the supercontinent known as
Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
.


Gallery

File:Araucaria araucana playa.jpg, ''Araucaria araucana'' in the
Argentine Andes Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
File:Conguillio National Park.jpg, Bark of a tree in Conguillío National Park, Chile File:Araucaria araucana cones.jpg, Female cones File:Araucaria araucana0.jpg, Male cones File:Araucaria araucana2.jpg, Part of a branch of a cultivated tree File:Araucaria araucana 03.jpg, ''A. araucana'', Botanical Garden, Wrocław, Poland File:Araucaria araucana-branch.JPG, ''A. araucana'' branch File:Araucaria araucana1.jpg, Monkey puzzle trees are popularly grown as
ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s. File:Monkey Puzzle Tree in snow at Kew.jpg, Juvenile tree in winter File:P.N.Nahuelbuta2.jpg, Mixed forest of ''Araucaria'' and coigüe in
Nahuelbuta National Park Nahuelbuta National Park () is one of the few parks located in La Araucanía Region of Chile's Coastal Mountain Range. It sits atop the highest part of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta. Created in 1939, it consists of 6,832 hectares situated just 16 ...
, Chile Araucaria araucana (8).JPG, ''Araucaria araucana'' in Botanical Garden Jevremovac (Belgrade)


References


External links

* Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2c v2.3) * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q158780
araucana The Araucana ( es, Gallina Mapuche, italic=no) is a breed of domestic chicken from Chile. Its name derives from the Araucanía region of Chile where it is believed to have originated. It lays blue-shelled eggs, one of very few breeds that do so. ...
Trees of Argentina Flora of central Chile Trees of Chile Edible nuts and seeds Trees of mild maritime climate Ornamental trees Vulnerable plants Plants described in 1782 Pinales of Argentina Pinales of Chile