Post #212767 by mbonga on Sun, Feb 5, 2006 7:31 AM

Don't forget the splendid Monkey Puzzle or "Faux Monkey Puzzle" (Bunya Bunya) these trees look like they came right out of a Dr Seuss book, and give any yard a "Land of the Lost" feel.

I just looked those up.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1452/index.html

One school campus I knew in Florida had those, and I happened to walk by one morning just as a cone fell to the ground. You're right: those cones are like coconuts or worse, and you wouldn't want to be near one when it falls. I don't recall seeing those trees at Disneyland, though. Since they look like pine trees, for my taste they don't have a very tropical look: I associate tropical plants with large leaves (taro, philodendrons, palms, etc.), and extreme weather plants with small leaves (pines, oaks, cactus, etc.).

P.S.--Here are 2 pics I took of a Monkey Puzzle Tree in Holiday Park, Carlsbad, California.

http://www.simnia.com/places/USA/CA/SDC/Carlsbad/HP/CA0509c_007_HP_pine.jpg
http://www.simnia.com/places/USA/CA/SDC/Carlsbad/HP/CA0509c_008_HP_%5bFALLING_CONES%5d.jpg

[ Edited by: mbonga 2006-02-05 11:27 ]