Chilean Monkey Puzzle | Medium Tree Seedling

About Chilean Monkey Puzzle

Araucaria araucana (commonly called the Chilean Monkey Puzzle Tree, Monkey Tail Tree, Chilean Pine, or Pehuén) is an evergreen tree native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. In the Andes Mountains, these curious trees grow up to heights of 130 feet with diameters of 5 feet, and can live to be more than 1,000 years old. The hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria, it is often described as a living fossil.

Chilean Monkey Puzzle Trees are well known for their symmetrical shape, scale-like leaves, and reptilian branches. The leaves are thick, tough, scale-like, and triangular, measuring 1.2–1.6 inches long and 0.39–1.18 inches broad at the base, with sharp edges and tips. They persist for 10–15 years or more, and so cover most of the tree except for the older branches.

These trees are usually dioecious, meaning the male and female cones grow on separate trees, though individuals will occasionally bear cones of both sexes. The male (pollen) cones are oblong and cucumber-shaped, 1.6 inches long at first, then expanding to 3.1–4.7 inches long by 2–2.4 inches broad at the time of pollen release. They are wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 4.7–7.9 inches in diameter, and hold about 200 seeds each. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the 1.2–1.6 inch-long nut-like seeds.

In 2013, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) designated the tree as an endangered species due to a continuing decline in the species’ actual area of occupancy and debilitating factors like fire, logging, and overgrazing. Help us plant these awesome trees!

Seedling Size Chart: Medium

Due to the dynamic nature of actively growing trees, as well as the tremendous variation between species’ growth rates, we rely on the cubic volume of a seedling’s root mass to determine its “size” (Small / Medium / Large / XL). Within each size there is minor variance — the dimensions provided here represent the category minimum. If exact measurements are essential, please contact us about current stock.