Species · genus Araucaria · Araucariaceae

Monkey Puzzle

Araucaria araucana (Molina) K.Koch

Also known as: Chilean Pine · Monkey Puzzle Tree · Chile Pine · Monkey-tail Tree · Monkeypuzzle Tree

Growth habit

tree

Native range

Argentina South, Chile Central, Chile South

Reference · A. araucana

Cultivars of A. araucana

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. araucana yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Araucaria araucana is a large evergreen conifer native to the cool, temperate mountain slopes of central and southern Chile and Argentina, where it endures bright light, fresh air, and well-drained ground. Indoors give it the brightest spot you can, ideally some direct morning sun, with cool conditions and good airflow; it resents stagnant heat. Water when the top inch or two of a gritty, free-draining mix has dried, keeping it just-moist in summer and leaning drier in winter, as soggy roots rot readily.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-18d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 18 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

5–22 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, sharply draining loam

Propagation

Fresh seed

Fertilizing

Sparse light feeding in spring and summer only

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Does not flower indoors; prized for its architectural branches

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-18d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Monkey Puzzle yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.