Ornamental · Conifer
Monkey Puzzle Tree
Araucaria araucana
Ornamental edible ancient monkey puzzle
Live plant sales are dormant for winter. Pickup returns April 1, 2027.
Local pickup only in Cumming, Iowa, April 1 to October 1, by appointment. Plants do not ship. Details
- Guaranteed true to name
- Inspect at pickup; decline it for a full refund
- All sales final. Policy
- Hardiness
- Zone 7 to 10
- Pollination
- Dioecious, with separate male and female trees. A female needs a male nearby to set viable seed
Check your ZIP
At a glance
- Family
- Araucariaceae, a Jurassic-era lineage essentially unchanged
- Mature size
- 100 to 130 feet in native habitat, trunk to 5 feet across. Extremely slow-growing
- Foliage
- Thick, triangular, sharp-edged leaves. Handle with care and site with intent
- Format
- A seed-grown Monkey Puzzle Tree in an air-pruned container. On its own roots. Each seedling is genetically unique. Seed grown at Provenance Nursery, Cumming, Iowa
- In bloom
- Male and female cones, usually on separate trees
- Also known as
- Pehuén, piñonero, Chilean pine
- Origin
Andes of southern Chile and western Argentina, 3,000 to 5,000 feet- Conservation status
- Endangered. CITES Appendix I
About this variety
A living fossil, and one of the strangest trees on earth. The monkey puzzle's stiff, overlapping, dagger-sharp leaves and thick reptilian branches belong to a lineage that was already ancient when dinosaurs walked beneath it.
It is the national tree of Chile, sacred to the Mapuche and Pehuenche peoples, and the source of the piñón, a large edible seed with a chestnut-like flavor that sustained people in the Andes for millennia. It can live a thousand years.
Below zone 7 this is a container plant. Rated zone 7 to 10 outdoors, so here it lives in a container and overwinters indoors above freezing. It is extremely slow-growing, which makes container culture workable for decades rather than a holding pattern.
On its conservation status. Araucaria araucana is endangered in the wild and listed on CITES Appendix I. That listing governs international trade; our plants are nursery-propagated from seed, sold for local pickup only, and we do not ship them across borders. If you ever intend to move one out of the country, check the permit requirements first.
Sold for container growing or for gardeners in milder zones.
Growing
Growing guides: Pollination Choosing natives and ornamentals Planting Winter Injury
Where it came from
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Monkey Puzzle Tree
Region. Only a county, state, province, valley or wider area is recorded. The pin marks the middle of that area.
Record confidence: REPORTED
See this cultivar among all origins →Reported. A credible third-party source, not independently verified. How we grade our records
In the kitchen
What can you make with this?
Recipes and drinks chosen for this cultivar's own flavor and texture, each written by Provenance Nursery and labeled with how well its history is documented.
Roasted araucaria pine nuts (piñones)
Whole araucaria seeds roasted in their shells until tender, the way piñones have been prepared for centuries by the Pehuenche people of the Andes, for whom this tree's seed is a documented staple food, recognized by Slow Food's Ark of Taste.
Role of the fruit. The whole dish: the seeds themselves
Prep 20 min. Cook 30 min. Total 50 min.
Ingredients
1 lb fresh araucaria (monkey puzzle) seeds, in their shells
Water for boiling
Salt, optional
Method
1. Boil the seeds in their shells 15 min to soften the hard outer coat.
2. Drain and roast on a sheet pan at 400°F for 15 min, until the shells split and the kernels smell toasted.
3. Cool slightly, peel away the shell and inner skin, and salt lightly if desired.
Storage. Roasted, shelled seeds keep refrigerated about 1 week; unshelled seeds keep for months in a cool, dry place.
Safety. Use only fully mature, properly cleaned seeds; do not eat the seed raw and unroasted or unboiled, as the starchy kernel is meant to be cooked.
History. Araucaria araucana seeds, known as piñones, have been a documented staple food of the Pehuenche people of the Andes in Chile and Argentina for centuries, gathered each autumn and stored through winter; the crop is recognized by the Slow Food Foundation's Ark of Taste as an endangered traditional food tied to Pehuenche identity and land.
Evidence: B. Documented Indigenous staple food. Source 1: fondazioneslowfood.com (opens in a new tab)
More in the Provenance Kitchen and Kitchen School. Canning appears here only as links to tested methods. Evidence levels are explained on How we grade our records.
What arrives
Container sizes
Parts of the plant
- Stem. The whole plant grew from one seed. There is no graft.
- Root collar. Plant it at the soil surface, at the depth it grew.
- Taproot and laterals. The deep container keeps the main root straight.
- Air-pruned container. The plant comes in the container it grew in.
Drawing not to scale. Planting guide
Pickup, shipping and policy
Pickup
Usually ready 2 to 4 days after you order; we email you to set a time.
Inspect at pickup
Look it over when you collect it. If you do not want it, leave it and that item is refunded in full.
All sales final
Every plant leaves here correctly labeled and true to name. Cancel before pickup for a full refund. Full policy