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 More amazingly it has also opened up access to more and more obscure historical documents that would have been nigh on impossible for someone in my position to track down before.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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment