monkey puzzle

Photo: Vicente Fernández Rioja — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The large seeds (piñones) are a staple food of Chile's Pehuenche people, roasted or boiled and tasting chestnut-like once cooked — raw seeds are not palatable. Each spherical female cone holds around 200 seeds and disintegrates at maturity in autumn to release them.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Nut

Ripens

Autumn

Mature size

Large tree 20–30 m; NOT containerable for cropping

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

5.0–6.5

Environment

Montane

Native range

Southern and central Chile and adjacent southwestern Argentina, 600–1,800 m — volcanic slopes and Andean forest.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

20–40 yrs in favorable conditions; up to 75–100 yrs in the driest parts of its range

Growth speed

Slow — 20–40 cm a year at best, and decades to a first cone

Spacing

1000 cm (394 in) apart — about 100 m² (1076 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Stiff, thick, dark green triangular scales 3–4 cm, sharply spine-tipped and arranged spirally so they cover the branch completely. They persist for ten to fifteen years, so whole branches are armoured — hence 'monkey puzzle'. Handle with gloves.

Root system

A deep taproot early on, later a wide network of thick, resinous surface roots that resent disturbance and cultivation nearby. Plant it small and leave it alone; the tree lives a thousand years and takes a long view.

Fruit description

Spherical female cones to about 17 cm across, holding roughly 200 large, chestnut-like seeds; the cones break apart at maturity to release them.

Propagation

Seed, sown as soon as ripe, or cuttings of vertical shoot tips taken in midsummer and rooted in a cold frame.

Pollination

DIOECIOUS — needs male + female

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.