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Araucariaceae FAMILY Endangered

Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Araucaria araucana is only hardy in the milder regions of the temperate zone, growing best in areas with moist summers and disliking hot, dry conditions. Prefers a deep well-drained soil[1, 2]. Dislikes hot dry soils[3]. Dislikes atmospheric pollution[4]. Very tolerant of maritime exposure and salt laden winds[5, 6]. The monkey puzzle is a very slow growing but long-lived tree that can take 5 - 10 years before it even gets above grass height and then grows around 35cm a year. Specimens more than 500 years old are frequently found[7, 8]. New growth takes place from early to late summer[7]. A high yielding tree that has large tasty seeds and is easily harvested. Its main disadvantages are its slow rate of growth and the time it takes before the first crop is produced - this can be up to 40 years from seed though we have often seen plants less than 20 years old produce cones[PFAF]. The plant is dioecious so at least one male plant needs to be grown for every 5 - 6 females - unfortunately there is no way of telling the sex of the tree until it flowers. There are means of vegetative reproduction and it might be possible to produce clones of known sex in the future - these will probably come into bearing at an earlier age. If you have the space to plant at least 5 trees, and the foresight, this is a tree that will be a very valuable food crop in the future[PFAF]. It is said that 18 good-sized trees can provide enough for an adult's sustenance all year round[9]. Female cones take 2 - 3 years to mature, and break up at the end of the year[7]. They contain up to 200 large seeds[PFAF]. Plants have been seen to self-sow in Cornwall[10]. We have records of trees regularly producing good crops of seeds in various sites in Cornwall, Devon and the west coast of Scotland. We also have one report of an excellent crop in 1997 from trees at Alvaston Castle near Derby and of a tree in Bedfordshire producing a heavy crop[PFAF]. Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus[6, 2]. Unlike most conifers, this tree can be coppiced[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[11] or it can be stored cool and moist then sown late winter in a greenhouse[12, 10]. Although the plants are quite cold-tolerant, the root systems of seedling plants can be damaged in spells of very cold weather so give some extra protection at this time if necessary. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 2 months at 15°c[11]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. The plants have a rather sparse root system and are best placed in their final positions as soon as possible. Give them some protection for their first winter[PFAF]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, May to July in a cold frame. Only epicormic side-shoots should be used, normal side-shoots do not develop properly[6]. An epicormic shoot is one that develops from a dormant bud on the main trunk of the tree[PFAF]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Araucaria+araucana>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  5. [5]Shelter Trees and Hedges. — Rosewarne experimental horticultural station. · Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A small booklet packed with information on trees and shrubs for hedging and shelterbelts in exposed maritime areas.
  6. [6]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  7. [7]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  8. [8]South American Timbers: the Properties, Uses and Characteristics of 190 Species. — Bolza. E. & Christensen. F.J. · Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization · 1979 · ISBN 0 643 02582 0 ↩︎A very useful guide.
  9. [9]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  10. [10]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  11. [11]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  12. [12]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  13. [13]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Flora of Chile. (in Spanish) — ? ↩︎Some information about the useful plants of Chile.
  15. [15]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  16. [16]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  17. [17]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎