Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: Monkey Puzzle

Family: Araucariaceae

Distribution: Argentina (Neuquén); Chile (Biobío, La Araucania, Los Lagos)

Habitat: Andes, upper timber-line at ca. 1,500 to 1,800 m, ecology is disturbance-driven,

IUCN Red list: Endangered

Hardiness: Zone 6a -10 to -5 F

Life form: Evergreen conifer

Usage: Ornamental, seeds are edible

Comments: National tree of Chile.
Common name reportedly comes from the comment, it would "puzzle a monkey to climb this tree”. The scientific name of araucana, is named for the Arauco Indians of central Chile
The tree was introduced into nursery commerce by Archibald Menzies, a Scottish naturalist who served as naturalist and surgeon on the ship Discovery on its voyage around the world under Captain Vancouver. Apparently one night, Mr. Menzies was dining out in Chile and was unable to identify some nuts on the table. He collected a few and germinated some on the voyage home.  The resulting, somewhat strange looking, plants quickly found their way into the rare plant collections of 18th century Europe, and the tree became a fad in Britain in the 1840s.
Mice and parakeets consume and disperse its seeds.
Araucaria fossils have been documented since the middle Jurassic period. It is related to the Wollemi pine, and their common ancestry dates to when all three continents (Australia, Antarctica and South America) were linked by land, when they were part of the supercontinent known as Gondwana.