General information on the plant
The Monkey Puzzle Imbricata is the largest species in the genus rustic Monkey Puzzle. The conifer is native to central Chile and center-west Argentina and is an evergreen tree with a straight trunk and built up to 40 m tall, with a trunk circumference of up to 2 m. It is considered the national tree of Chile
The leaves are thick, hard and sharp, triangular, 3-4 cm long and 1-3 cm wide at the base, with the edge as sharp as a razor. Remain on the tree for 10-15 years and covering a large part of the tree with the exception of the older branches.
It is a dioecious plant, with sporophylls male and female seats of different plants, even if you know specimens with both. The sporophylls male contain pollen and have an oblong shape, similar to a cucumber, 4 cm long beginning and then larger and larger up to 8-12 cm long by 5-6 cm wide when the pollen is released. Like all conifers, pollination is done by the wind. The sporophylls are female inflorescence spherical. When they are pollinated, produce a large strobilus woody, with a diameter of 12-20 cm with seeds like nuts at the base of each scale. The strobilus can contain up to 200 seeds: disintegrate at maturity to release the seeds, which are then dispersed by animals.
Its natural habitat are the slopes of the Andes from Chile and Argentina, in particular above 1000 m, in regions with large winter snowfalls.
The genus Monkey Puzzle Imbricata prefer first of all high places and cool especially in summer, zone nursery where it rains abundantly so that the atmosphere is always saturated with moisture, exhibitions open and sunny, permeable soils and very dry land ready scolo.Nei and when the plants are in a confined space or near any other plants, they often lose the lower branches, nevertheless can keep well in places a little dry, as long as it is not isolated, but surrounded at a safe distance from other coniferous trees or plants in the genus .