This reptilian giant is a monkey puzzle tree growing at the corner of North Rd and Birchfield Ave in North East Valley. Who hasn’t felt a primal twinge of terror as they’ve looked up at a large monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) with its ferocious dark green "teeth"? There are even monkey puzzle trees growing successfully today in Norway and the Faroe Islands north of Scotland. One of the best local specimens of these monsters stands proudly near Chingford Park on the corner of North Rd and Birchfield Ave in North East Valley. It’s my privilege to know a local Chilean family whose ancestors prized the edible seeds of the monkey puzzle tree.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 01, 2019 14:26 UTC