Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana, commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, pewen, pehuen pine or piñonero, is an <a href="/facts/Evergreen/bcLptUdV">evergreen</a> <a href="/facts/Tree/HVVn3srN">tree</a> belonging to the family <a href="/facts/Araucariaceae/Rn6BKUbo">Araucariaceae</a> and growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (98–131 ft). It is native to central and southern <a href="/facts/Chile/uEyTfEcx">Chile</a> and western <a href="/facts/Argentina/aFSA5bAk">Argentina</a>. It is the hardiest species in the <a href="/facts/Conifer/vDUgqxCx">conifer</a> genus <a href="/facts/Araucaria/nYbndfnU">Araucaria</a>. Because of the prevalence of similar species in ancient prehistory, it is sometimes called an animate <a href="/facts/Living_fossil/EujFvU2D">fossil</a>. It is also the <a href="/facts/List_of_national_trees/y4vQ2RYk">official tree</a> of Chile and of the neighboring Argentine province of <a href="/facts/Neuqu%C3%A9n/MtwpoSx4">Neuquén</a>. The IUCN changed its conservation status to <a href="/facts/Endangered_species/L7cIweSW">Endangered</a> in 2013 as logging, forest fires, and grazing caused its population to dwindle.

Araucaria araucana open-in-new

Araucaria araucana