Nature’s Weirdest Christmas Tree

In the Spring of 1967, I drove out to San Diego. California, stopping briefly in Nashville to look around and visit the Parthenon replica. After I got settled into my apartment in South Mission Beach, California I began small trips around the San Diego area including the lovely Balboa Park and some of the older neighborhoods like Mission Hills. I could see from the brand-new freeway Interstate 5 some very tall, roundish, unusual, even a little bit freaky pine trees. Some of the biggest of those trees are still there, some are very old. I was told that all these Eucalyptus and unusual pine trees, the Norfolk Island Pines and Monkey Tail Pines, were brought by seed from Australia back during the age of the tall ships. San Diego was naturally unforested and mostly bare ground until the Australian trees were planted.

As I talked to the neighbors and owners of these trees, I noticed the unusual pine needle configuration. It really does remind me of monkey tails. I picked up a giant pinecone and marveled at his unusual layers and structure and size. I also began to notice that the most common trees all over San Diego were the Mexican Fan Palms which were very popular and still are. I began to draw the Monkey Tail and Norfolk Island Pines in my renderings and urged my architectural clients to plant some of these weird trees.

When we got here to Del Webb in Providence. I was very amazed at the diversity and beauty of the landscape here. When we moved into our second home at Blockade Lane, I began examining two of the lovely healthy bushy pine trees behind that house as I would be cleaning and trimming them. I suddenly realized these had to be Monkey Tail Pines. What else would they be? Soon I began seeing lots of these trees around our Del Webb neighborhoods and they were all younger trees with a slightly different look, very pointed shape and not yet rounding out as the older trees do.

The two very healthy, very happy Pines depicted here between two Red Rocket Maples are easily found when you come up to the stop sign at Del Webb Boulevard and Southern Way. In my photograph of the Sun taken through the Monkey Tail Pine, you can slightly see how the tree gets its name. The branches tend, over time, to look like monkey tails.

When you Google “Monkey Tail Pine” the phrase “Monkey Puzzle Tree” comes up.

These trees occur only in southern Chile and Argentina but Tasmania claims to have two of them. They are regarded as very rare and endangered.

I know that everyone wants to chop down trees that are not native or get rid of invasive plants. Please take a second look. There really would be no reason to take out the Monkey Tail Pines.

I often wonder how they got to Del Webb? We don’t see them anywhere else around.

Stuart Resor