October 11th, 2015: Monkey Puzzle Tree
This is a picture Walking Man could have taken, as this tree is growing next to the Smithsonian castle. But did he? Noooooooooooooooo. :haha:
------------------------- http://cellar.org/2015/puzzling tree.jpg Quote:
Leaves that live longer than many pets? :eek: I wonder how long the tree will live? Oh, Wiki says... Quote:
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I had no idea they were rare; there are four that I can think of just off the top of my head(here in Aylesbury, in Leeds and Otley). Four isn't a huge amount compared to indigenous trees, but compared to how many pandas I've seen in my life, it's not bad.
Probably a late Victorian vogue for planting them, from where I can picture their location/ the surrounds. |
I don't think they're rare, just the native forests have been decimated, so although they seem to have been transplanted as ornamentals all over the world, they're endangered at home.
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Got you.
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We had one in our front yard when I was a kid.
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I know 2 things about this tree :). Wood & cones from either this or a couple of similar species are highly prized by fossil collectors is the first one. I spent most of the first 12 years of my life in Portland, Oregon and I used to see them all the time back in the 1970s is the second one. I don't see nearly as many now when I'm in Portland every July, and the neighbor whose parents have lived in the same suburban house for over 30 years doesn't recognize the name "monkey puzzle". I will totally be sending him a link to this page! For awesome fossil pics, use the search words Araucaria mirabilis
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OK, snake, I did that...
http://cellar.org/2015/googletree.jpg The highlighted link says... Quote:
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My grandparents has a huge one in their front garden. they told us it was called a monkey puzzle tree because the leaves are very hard and sharp and point up, so it's easy for a monkey to climb up as they flatten down in the direction of movement, but practically impossible for them to get down again because they stick in. Kind of like the road spikes at car rental lots.
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http://tinyurl.com/o84dxg8
http://www.ancientmicroworld.com/gal...ilis%20p3.html https://www.flickr.com/photos/27683743@N03/4538641127 http://worldraider.com/2010/11/23/ar...al-camera-117/ There's another pic of this trunk from a very slightly different angle, but it's a small and old photo. For scale, however, note the person at the right side of the frame. Info on the other image (which includes the distinctive skyline) says this is in fact a fossilized A. mirabilis trunk. |
The Mirabilis is first cousin to the Araucaria in the OP.
Captain Cook served those seeds for desert when he had the governor of Chile for dinner. The left over seeds were planted in a box on the ship and he arrived back in England with five healthy trees. Wait... Cook the governor for dinner? :yum: Oh, the governor was a guest of Cook... nevermind. |
I absolutely adore these trees, always have done, no particular idea why but I have. A house over the street has one which is well established, and I'd like on one day.
There is also one outside the Jaguar enclosure at Chester Zoo, I take a picture of my kids with it whenever we go |
Having read Sundae's post, I was prompted to do a couple of searches about these trees in the locality.
I discovered that there is one near here which I pass every time I go to buy milk and I don't think I've ever noticed it, I am ashamed to admit. Incidentally, it was mentioned in an estate agent's archived ad for the property. http://s28.postimg.org/cvnla63bx/Monkey_Puzzle_2.jpg Street View Had to go back to a 2011 Street View image to get a decent view, but it's still there. Or was at 0845 this morning. |
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I love how it's a thing in England to have exotic plants. I was amazed, when walking through Ascot, to see rows of Redwoods lining some streets.
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There's a Redwood at Weston Turville just opposite a former lodge house to Alfred Rothschild's estate at Halton Park: http://s24.postimg.org/6q0w4rxc5/Redwood.jpg Street View Lionel Walter Rothschild (Tring) |
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