I have a friend with a monkey tree that is about 30 feet tall, it was planted in 1922 and it has several very large seed pods ,but if you touch them they disintegrate instantly, is there any way to harvest them?
Monkey puzzle, Araucaria araucana has separate male and female plants. If both sexes are present the female trees are pollinated and will produce (edible seed). If no males are nearby the female cones will not develop. I have been looking around town for female trees with full cones, but all the ones I see appear to lone females with undeveloped cones. I have not explored that much, but I can't remember seeing a group of monkey puzzles anywhere. There is a photo showing the male and female cones on wikipedia. Compare to your tree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_araucana
I just noticed this from the wikipedia article, "The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the 3–4 cm long nut-like seeds..." Maybe you have good seed there.
Pick up the seeds by hand after they have fallen. Only collect plump, heavy, hard seeds; if they are lightweight and soft, the seeds are empty. Note that the seeds do not keep well, unless stored cold and moist. If they dry out for just a few days, the seed is killed. Pics below shows a typical pile of fallen seeds.
Hi, Araucarias or Monkey trees come from Chile. Natives use the seeds, Piñones/pine nuts, for cooking. The natives use it in salads, baking, and they even make flour. Cheers and enjoy it.
Yes, I believe they are most commonly propagated by seed. I have not done this, so I will let someone else speak to this. Online recommendations suggest that they germinate easily from fresh seed. Try a search for "Araucaria araucana propagation" for instructions. Maybe someone will offer personal experience here.
