A Change Of Name

After thinking about the title of this blog I realised I wanted something that captured the spirit of it a bit more. To be honest I couldn't really think of anything appropriate so was very happy when Nathalie suggested 'The Monkey Puzzle Tree Nut' as a title. It really encapsulates what this is about, a grown man who's a bit nutty about his favourite tree and when you consider that the seeds (ngülliw in Mapudungun or piñones in Spanish) of the Monkey Puzzle tree are commonly called nuts I reckon it's perfect.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 8        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 4

Another Local Monkey Puzzle To See And A Dilemma Resolved

The other day I was given a photograph by Nathalie of a sweet little Monkey Puzzle Tree that resides in one of her client's back garden. Hopefully I will be allowed to join her when she's working there in the future and then I'll be able to say hello to this cute little tree.

However, this new tree discovery brought to the fore a dilemma I was having with this blog and has made me have to think of ways of addressing it. The problem is that even though I can't imagine many (if any) people will be bothered about checking any of the Monkey Puzzle Trees I mention here there is a possibility, no matter how unlikely, that one day someone will decide to try and visit one or more of the trees featured. When it comes to Monkey Puzzle Trees that are in public spaces like Regents Park and Hyde Park this is obviously not an issue but some of the trees are going to be in places where there is no public access like private gardens or where an admission is charged to enter the location, such as Kew Gardens.

So to prevent a number of angry residents complaining about people traipsing through their private spaces and to avoid upsetting potential Monkey Puzzle Tree spotters by sending them on what would effectively be a wild goose chase, I have decided to retrospectively start a labelling system. From now on the location of all the Monkey Puzzle Trees I blog about will be categorised depending on their location in respect to both Private/Public, Free/Charged etc. I have also decided when a tree is in a private location which requires permission to gain to access then the location details both here and on the Map Of My Quest will be more generic rather than specific.

These are the categories I intend to use from now on, I will add any other categories as and when I think of them:

• Public Space (free public access)
• Admission Charge (access to public with charge)
• Private (no public access)
• Private Front Garden (viewable from public space)
• Private Rear Garden (viewable from public space)
• Private Front Garden (Restricted View) (viewable from public space)
• Private Rear Garden (Restricted View) (viewable from public space)

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 8        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 4

Hyde Park Revisited

In an earlier post I told how I had unexpectedly come across two Monkey Puzzle Trees in Hyde Park whilst on a charity walk. I also mentioned the fact that I didn't manage to take any photos of the trees at the time, in order to rectify this I popped back to the Park last Saturday in order to finally get some photos. Well to my surprise when I arrived I discovered that I had somehow missed a Monkey Puzzle Tree last time and there was in fact THREE Monkey Puzzle Trees to behold!

The Three Monkey Puzzle Trees In Hyde Park

I think I might call these three trees 'The 3 Bears' as like in the classic fairy tale Goldilocks & The 3 Bears there is:

A Big One (W2)

A Medium One (W3)

And A Little One (W4)

I also took this lovely picture, which for me captures the beauty of the Monkey Puzzle Tree.

Araucaria araucana In All Its Splendour

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 8        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 3

The First Time The Monkey Puzzle Tree Was Described And Given A Scientific Name

If you've read my last post you will know I've become quite obsessed with researching about the Monkey Puzzle tree. As I said there I intend to post my research in a future post, however I'm so excited by what I've just found I couldn't wait to post it and decided to share it immediately.

As the title of this post really gives away what I've found I'll just get on with it. The first time the Monkey Puzzle tree was described and given a scientific name was by (Abbé) Molina, Giovanni Ignazio (1740-1829). He named the tree Pinus araucana on page 182 of his book Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili (The geographical, natural and civil history of Chili), which was published in Bologna by Nella Stamperia de S. Tommaso d' Aquino in 1782.

The original Italian version of 1782 can be seen here - http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127570#page/188/mode/1up

The First Scientific Naming Of The Monkey Puzzle Tree - 1782

The translated English version of 1808 can be viewed here - http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127539#page/154/mode/1up

The English Translation Of The First Scientific Naming Of The Monkey Puzzle Tree - 1808

Molina was born in Chile and entered the Jesuit college in Concepcion, where he studied languages and natural sciences. He was the librarian for the Jesuit order of St. Jago de Chili. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, he became professor of natural sciences in Bologna.

How the Monkey Puzzle went on to be named Araucaria araucana I'll cover in a later post.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 7        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 3

The Wonders Of The Internet

Since I decided to document my quest I've found myself, much to the chagrin of the people around me, thinking about Monkey Puzzle trees more and more. It has now reached the point where I'm now trying learn as much about them as I possibly can as quickly as possible. I've begun researching into when they were first 'discovered' by Europeans, who introduced them into Britain/Europe, where were they first grown in Britain/Europe and by whom, how they came to be named Araucaria araucana and so on.

When it comes to finding out about this information the Internet has really come into its own. With the ability to search what relevant books there are on the subject has meant the days of scouring local libraries for books, which you didn't even know existed, are long gone. More amazingly it has also opened up access to more and more obscure historical documents that would have been nigh on impossible for someone in my position to track down before. One site that I have found to be extremely useful for this is the Biodiversity Heritage Library, a truly incredible website, which has literally thousands of scanned books going back to the earliest days of botany that are easily accessible. It has proved a real treasure trove of information for me especially regarding the first encounters Europeans had with the Monkey Puzzle tree and how it came to be named.

There are also many other sites which provide valuable information about the Monkey Puzzle tree, the following being just a small selection: Devon Gardens Trust; Kew Gardens I; Kew Gardens II; Eden Project; Wikipedia; FT. However, whilst the botanical facts these sites provide are impeccable occasionally it would seem that some of the historical details might not be entirely accurate. Once I have garnered enough information I plan to post what I have gleaned from these and various other sources at a later date.

Until then if you fancy looking at some old books and documents about Monkey Puzzle trees this link will take you to the BHL website's search results for Araucaria - http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/name/Araucaria. It's worth remembering that in a lot of the early accounts the Monkey Puzzle tree was incorrectly identified as Araucaria imbricata rather than Araucaria araucana. Also worth knowing is that there are over 19,000 references to Araucaria to check out if you feel inclined.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 7        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 3

Regents Park Update

In an earlier post I said there was a possibility of at least one more Monkey Puzzle tree in Regents Park.  I have now got an answer back from Nathalie and the news isn't good, as far as they're aware at Capel Manor there is only the one Monkey Puzzle tree in Regents Park. What a pity, maybe I should go and plant a few more as a present to the users of the Park.

To make up for the bad news here's an image from http://www.plant-talk.org/chile-in-pictures.htm of a number of Monkey Puzzle trees.  I think I might need to start planning a holiday to Chile!

Stands of monkey puzzle trees grace the skyline in Chile

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 7        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 3

2 More Childhood Monkey Puzzles & Google Street View Dilemmas

Whilst visiting my Dad and his wife Sandra over the Xmas break I happened to mention this blog to them. I explained the reasons for doing it and what I hoped to achieve, which to be honest is more about keeping a record for myself about all the Monkey Puzzle trees I've ever seen rather than anything else. Having sat and listened patiently to my discourse my Dad waited till I'd finished and then began to recall that when we had the Monkey Puzzle tree in our back garden in Aldbury Road some chap, whose name I can't recall, popped round one day and was so impressed with our tree that he wanted to know what it was and where he could get one. Apparently he then went off and almost immediately bought and planted a small Monkey Puzzle tree in his front garden, which was just around the corner from us.


Well there's no prizes for guessing what I did next, I was straight onto Google Street View and after a quick search lo and behold there was the aforementioned Monkey Puzzle tree looking very dapper indeed. My joy of finding that this tree was still there (at least when Street View was photographing) also saddened me, to think that our Monkey Puzzle would have been even bigger than this one, which considering its size could only mean that ours would have been a very lovely big specimen now.

Oakfield - Google Street View

Once this new Monkey Puzzle tree to be seen was identified I began to think back to when I was young and how I would often walk home from Rickmansworth Station after school. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my memory I was sure I had images of having often walked past another Monkey Puzzle tree in my early years.  There was no time to waste and I once again dived into Google Street View to see if I could find this tree form the hazy memory of my past. I have to say at this point that Dad & Sandra were very accommodating and didn't once object to my totally selfish behaviour as, after all, this important 'research' could easily have been done once I got home.

After a good half hour of 'walking' my old routes to and from Rickmansworth Station I suddenly saw in the distance of the image on my screen the unmistakeable outline of an absolutely huge Monkey Puzzle tree!  Again it was only a short walk from where I grew up so this along with the Oakfield trees were immediately added to the category of 'Monkey Puzzles Yet To See' - I added them as separate trees even though they are close to each other as they're still reasonably far apart.

Highfield Way - Google Street View

It also got me thinking that I might be able to use this method to track-down more Monkey Puzzle trees to see but after careful consideration I decided it may be best to look for them in some other way. Unless I want to cease interacting with the World like any normal(ish) human being does, as I found it can be quite addictive picking random places from my past and scouring them for Monkey Puzzle trees on Street View, not to mention the prospect of picking random places I've never been to and seeing if there happen to be any Monkey Puzzle trees there.

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 7        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 3

Boxing Day Bonus

A walk on Boxing Day around Regents Park was made all the more enjoyable when Nathalie led me to this fine young Monkey Puzzle Tree she had been shown during her RHS course.

Regents Park (NW2)

There may be at least one more Monkey Puzzle tree in the park and I'm hoping Nathalie can find out, at Capel Manor College in Regents Park where she also teaches garden design, whether there is another one and if so where it's hiding .

Monkey Puzzle Trees Seen - 7        Monkey Puzzle Trees Yet To See - 1