Araucaria Juss. (1789) is a genus of 19 species, the largest in the family Araucariaceae, found mainly in the southwest Pacific and in South America. Araucaria araucana, (Molina) K. Koch, the monkey puzzle or Chile pine, is the only species hardy in temperate climates.

Description Trees to around 30m after 100 years, with a girth of 3m. The leaves are evergreen, flat, stiff, scale-like, very sharp-pointed, spirally arranged around the shoot to give a diameter of around 8cm. The male cones droop in clusters at the ends of the upper shoots; the female cones are on the upper sides of shoots and take 3 years to ripen. Male and female cones are usually on separate trees; pollination is by wind. The mature cones are around 20cm long, and break up on the tree; the seeds are edible.

Key Recognition Features The thick, spiny shoots, short, rigid leaves, and rough, grey bark of the monkey puzzle are unmistakable. The branches are often clustered at the top of a tall, bare trunk.

Evolution and Relationships An ancient genus important in the Jurassic forests. The 2 other genera in the family are Agathis Salisb. with 20 species, including the New Zealand kauri pine, and the Australian genus Wollemia (W.G. Jones et al) discovered in 1994 in a hidden canyon in New South Wales, where only around 30 trees survive.

Ecology and Geography Forms pure stands in mountains; grows best in wet, windy climates. Monkey puzzle is native to Chile and western Argentina. 13 species are found only in New Caledonia.

Comment The monkey puzzle is common as an ornamental; it was popular in Victorian gardens, and is again in suburban gardens today. It is important for timber in Chile, and the seeds are edible. Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco, Norfolk Island pine, has a very regular arrangement of horizontal branches; it is a common ornamental pot plant and often planted by the sea in mild areas. It has narrow, softer, incurved leaves. Araucaria bidwillii Hook. fil. from Queensland, Australia has softer leaves and huge cones with edible seeds. Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze from southern Brazil and Argentina is the parana pine, a valuable timber tree, also with edible seeds.