By Liliana Usvat
Blog 184-365
Description
Araucaria araucana: Genus and species named for Arauco Indians of Chile and Argentina, who have natural forests of this tree and harvest the seeds for food. It is huge, tall, sturdy, strange-looking, it bark very reminiscent of the dinosaur skin, and this comparision is not too far fetched, because it is one of the oldest families of trees on earth
A dioecious evergreen tree of town gardens, parks, policies and plantations. It grows best in fertile soils, especially on the western seaboard, but it is very hardy and will thrive in exposed situations.
Trees are dioecious -- male and female cones appear on separate trees.Trunk appears wrinkley with age.
This is the most hardy of the araucarias. They are also drought tolerant and disease resistant.
Chile is home to one of the world's most fantastic araucaria forests. The araucaria's tall spindly trunk and unusual evergreen foliage give it a distinct form that can be recognized from miles away. An araucaria tree can live for 1,800 years and grow more than 8 feet wide and 185 feet tall. The ever-shrinking range of A. araucana is limited to a small region in the southern Andes. (Fossilized and living specimens of the genus are found in South Africa, Australia, some Pacific islands, Antarctica, Europe, Brazil, and North America). This species is unique for its genus in thriving in the temperate climate's warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. About 800,000 acres of forest lands contain A. araucana; only 125,000 are pure stands.
History
The trees are believed to have found their way to Britain with Archibald Menzies a plant collector and naval surgeon who sailed with Captain George Vancouver on his circumnavigation of the globe between 1791 and 1795, in Captain James Cook’s former ship, the Discovery.
The story goes that he had been invited to dinner by the then governor of Chile when he was served the pine nuts from this tree for dessert. Instead of eating them he took them back to his ship and planted them.
He took 5
saplings back to Britain with him and these were supposed to have been the first planted in the UK. They taste a lot like pine nuts and look like chilgoza.
The cones when they mature can contain 200 seeds, and these begin to
grow when the tree is 25 years old. They take 2 or 3 years to ripen
however.
This araucaria species is also known as "Pehuen" (in the native Mapuche language) and the Monkey Puzzle Tree (because an Englishman remarked in the 1800s that it would be a puzzle for a monkey to climb). Botanists now recognize the araucaria as an “archetypal” tree, among the earliest families of seed-bearing plants. Araucaria forests were widespread on the Earth alongside dinosaurs in the Jurassic (carbon records date back at least 180 million years); the tree's armor of daggerlike leaves was designed to thwart the appetite of 80-ton herbivores. The araucaria yields large nuts in the fall.
Keep the Forest Alive
The araucaria's Natural Monument status makes it illegal to cut; but this protection has been lifted before. Illegal logging occurs, and the large timber companies covet the last araucaria forests. Three-fourths of those that remain are on private lands. The publicly protected lands fall well short of what is needed to ensure the species' health and the long-term viability of the ecosystem. The Santuario Cañi is one of the araucaria's last refuges.
Growing Tips
The plant tolerates low temperatures (-15° C even -20° C), it can be covered by snow for months (1 - 8 months).
Excellent germination capacity, over 80%
The seeds are easy to germinate provided that they are fresh. the sure way to germinate them is to soak the seeds for about two days in water, then carry out a short cold stratification (put the seeds into a refrigerator for about 10 - 15 days in humid sand), and then plant them at 20º C.
The germination rate is about 80%, and because the seeds are quite big, the initial growth (10 -12 cm.) is very quick - it takes less than 90 days from the time you soak the sees till you obtain the young plants of this size. For some batches of seeds the cold stratification may not be necessary if the seeds were exposed to rain before harvesting (happens quite often in their natural habitat) and underwent the natural cold stratification.
In that case the seeds would germinate well, but they can not be stored for long period of times before sowing, because they start to spoil. We have successfully germinated seeds which were stored for up to 1 year and a half, but we recommend that as a rule, only fresh seeds are used and are not stored for more than 3 months after harvest (in Chile, the harvesting time is around March - April).
Eatible uses
Seed - raw or cooked. Rich in starch[183]. The seed is soft like a cashew nut and has a slight flavour of pine nuts. This is a delicious seed and it makes very pleasant eating. It is a food that can easily be eaten in quantity and can be used as a staple food in the diet[K]. Fairly large, the seeds are about the size of an almond and can be 3cm long x 1cm wide. They are harvested in the autumn and, when kept in cool, dry conditions will store for at least 9 months.
Medicinal Uses
A resin obtained from incisions in the trunk is used in the treatment of ulcers and wounds
Blog 184-365
National Tree of Chile
A. araucana is the national tree of Chile and is widely represented in popular culture, as the Chilean people are justly proud of itDescription
Araucaria araucana: Genus and species named for Arauco Indians of Chile and Argentina, who have natural forests of this tree and harvest the seeds for food. It is huge, tall, sturdy, strange-looking, it bark very reminiscent of the dinosaur skin, and this comparision is not too far fetched, because it is one of the oldest families of trees on earth
A dioecious evergreen tree of town gardens, parks, policies and plantations. It grows best in fertile soils, especially on the western seaboard, but it is very hardy and will thrive in exposed situations.
Trees are dioecious -- male and female cones appear on separate trees.Trunk appears wrinkley with age.
This is the most hardy of the araucarias. They are also drought tolerant and disease resistant.
Chile is home to one of the world's most fantastic araucaria forests. The araucaria's tall spindly trunk and unusual evergreen foliage give it a distinct form that can be recognized from miles away. An araucaria tree can live for 1,800 years and grow more than 8 feet wide and 185 feet tall. The ever-shrinking range of A. araucana is limited to a small region in the southern Andes. (Fossilized and living specimens of the genus are found in South Africa, Australia, some Pacific islands, Antarctica, Europe, Brazil, and North America). This species is unique for its genus in thriving in the temperate climate's warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. About 800,000 acres of forest lands contain A. araucana; only 125,000 are pure stands.
History
The trees are believed to have found their way to Britain with Archibald Menzies a plant collector and naval surgeon who sailed with Captain George Vancouver on his circumnavigation of the globe between 1791 and 1795, in Captain James Cook’s former ship, the Discovery.
The story goes that he had been invited to dinner by the then governor of Chile when he was served the pine nuts from this tree for dessert. Instead of eating them he took them back to his ship and planted them.
This araucaria species is also known as "Pehuen" (in the native Mapuche language) and the Monkey Puzzle Tree (because an Englishman remarked in the 1800s that it would be a puzzle for a monkey to climb). Botanists now recognize the araucaria as an “archetypal” tree, among the earliest families of seed-bearing plants. Araucaria forests were widespread on the Earth alongside dinosaurs in the Jurassic (carbon records date back at least 180 million years); the tree's armor of daggerlike leaves was designed to thwart the appetite of 80-ton herbivores. The araucaria yields large nuts in the fall.
Keep the Forest Alive
The araucaria's Natural Monument status makes it illegal to cut; but this protection has been lifted before. Illegal logging occurs, and the large timber companies covet the last araucaria forests. Three-fourths of those that remain are on private lands. The publicly protected lands fall well short of what is needed to ensure the species' health and the long-term viability of the ecosystem. The Santuario Cañi is one of the araucaria's last refuges.
Growing Tips
The plant tolerates low temperatures (-15° C even -20° C), it can be covered by snow for months (1 - 8 months).
Very easy to cultivate
The seeds are easy to germinate provided that they are fresh. the sure way to germinate them is to soak the seeds for about two days in water, then carry out a short cold stratification (put the seeds into a refrigerator for about 10 - 15 days in humid sand), and then plant them at 20º C.
The germination rate is about 80%, and because the seeds are quite big, the initial growth (10 -12 cm.) is very quick - it takes less than 90 days from the time you soak the sees till you obtain the young plants of this size. For some batches of seeds the cold stratification may not be necessary if the seeds were exposed to rain before harvesting (happens quite often in their natural habitat) and underwent the natural cold stratification.
In that case the seeds would germinate well, but they can not be stored for long period of times before sowing, because they start to spoil. We have successfully germinated seeds which were stored for up to 1 year and a half, but we recommend that as a rule, only fresh seeds are used and are not stored for more than 3 months after harvest (in Chile, the harvesting time is around March - April).
Eatible uses
Seed - raw or cooked. Rich in starch[183]. The seed is soft like a cashew nut and has a slight flavour of pine nuts. This is a delicious seed and it makes very pleasant eating. It is a food that can easily be eaten in quantity and can be used as a staple food in the diet[K]. Fairly large, the seeds are about the size of an almond and can be 3cm long x 1cm wide. They are harvested in the autumn and, when kept in cool, dry conditions will store for at least 9 months.
Medicinal Uses
A resin obtained from incisions in the trunk is used in the treatment of ulcers and wounds
