Araucaria araucana

The monkey puzzle tree is in the araucaria or Araucariaceae family and is native to southern Chile and western Argentina, growing to over 1 m in diameter and up to 35 m in height.

Although the trees generally have branches extending close to the ground in younger trees in gardens and parks, in their natural habitat, mature trees have clear stems, with branches only near the top of the tree resembling a parasol, sticking out as an upper canopy well above a lower canopy.

• Leaves are thick, tough, and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm long, 1–3 cm broad at the base, and with sharp edges and tips, covering most of the tree including the stem. They persist for 10–15 years.
• Branches are in regular whorls of 4–8 branches, growing horizontally or slightly pendant from the stem. There are no visible vegetative buds.
• Species can be monoecious or dioecious. Male cones (strobili) are drooping, woody, 8–12 cm long and 3–6 cm wide; female cones are yellow, upright, round, spiny, 10–18 cm in diameter, turning brown and disintegrating on the tree over the winter. Females take 2 years to ripen, with trees having first-year and second-year cones.
• Seeds are edible and are a staple food of the Araucana, a domestic chicken in Chile which lays pale blue-shelled eggs.