Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana

Weeding through the border carefully, and before a size 10 tackety boot crushed it, eagle eyed, we spotted a seedling of the Monkey Puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana.
An unexpected find, a healthy dark green colour with the tell-tale spikes to the end of the leaves.
The two mature trees in the garden to the south of the Front Range Glasshouses, one male; one female tree are producing fertile seed. The squirrels are breaking up the dome shaped cones and dispersing and burying the seed they do not eat.

A native to the Andean mountains of southern Chile and Argentina where they grow on the slopes of volcanoes. Seed was first introduced to Britain in 1795 by Archibald Menzies, a plant collector from RBGE.

Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana