ID...it seems tropical.. but surely exotic..

I was going to post the ID request to the evergreen group... but I find there is none here... so ya'll are it...
This is an evergreen looking tree I recently saw on my trip to Ireland... growing about 30' tall... and looking like a missing link.. somewhere between an evergreen and a fern... with a bit of dinasour thrown in.. almost like a Norfork Pine with armor on the bark.. here's the first photo.. gardens every where in Ireland.. although there was a hard frost the last nights I was there... so many of the flowers were passed... Gordon

This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 8:48 AM

Ya.. great gardens... nothing like a rain every few hours... intersperced with some bright sun...
here on my mystery... you can seee the thinner new growth.. on the branch tips... and the armor I mentioned... in neat rows going all the way up the trunk... ah... come on... should be a give away now as to who this is.. although I haven't seen one in Brooklyn yet... but maybe soon HA HA HA .... just what I need....a plant that doesn't flower...

OK.. the last photo.. had to go out early in the rain to get these.. before leaving the B+B a few houses down the road... almost every other house is a B+B... you can just drive down in interesting street.. and pick the house you'd like to stay in...
OK here it is... you might blow the picture up to the max [ perhpas more than just double clicking on it.. ] ... and check out the leaf formation... as they really aren't needles { as I know them ] .. well it was a great time... I'd love to go earlier in the year... and see more of the earlier flowers... Gordon

Looks a lot like the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) which is in the same family as Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla).

WOW>>>YEs you're right... looking at it on Google... surely the tree in the photo... and so hardy it seems... good to - 20 C ... with it growing up into Norway... now that's hardy... wonder what it is like in the heat of New York... HA HA it's got the cold end sewed up...
it's also a food crop it says... making gigantic pine nuts... and the national tree of Chile... surely I should have seen this about somewhere... well off to find one... one for me and and couple for mother in North Alabama... [ they might need two to make pine cones...] to go with her Dawn Redwwood.. as another throw back..
thanks for the prompt [ and correct ] ID .. nice to be about such knowledgeable plant folks... makes discovery so easy.. Gordon
just some Irish flowers


This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 9:51 AM

Yep that's what it is; a lot of people in the UK and Ireland have this tree which looks REALLY out of place in the landscape there!

My cousin in Miss has this tree and she dont know what it is either. cant root it and no new trees comes up altho there are two of them because an aunt gave them this tree and its been growing for the last 20 or more yrs and like the one in the picture its very tall. If I go out to her house later this month when I make my annual visit to miss I will take a picture of hers to compare to the one posted. I think I have seen these trees advertised in catalogs tho and they call them prehistric trees. Grow very fast and stay green yr round. and have that ferny look.
Fran

Hmmm... I wonder if the Norfolk Island pine and the Monkey Puzzle tree would hybridize?

LariAnn

LOL LariAnn I think our minds are to similar. I was thinking the samething then found your reply down here.

Give it lots of room Gordon. We get them around here almost double that size. One tree will hog up an entire front yard.

Well maybe it's not a good one for my roof top.. but mothers driveway is about 100 yards long.. with nothing along it..no trees. just through an old cow pasture a perfect place for a few of these ..plenty of sun/water ... and the soil is great from the cows having been there for ages..
I love the prehistoric look to it... and such a deep dark green.. or is this just Ireland
Gordon

Is she also in zone 7b? I think it's only hardy to 7b, so if she's in a colder zone than you then she may have trouble with it.

~3~ seems it's good to 6a or 6b... that's..... -20*C... so it should do OK for her there... although she had a clay base... and it might not like it being a wet soil... perfering well drained... Gordon

Thanks for posting that picture Gordon. They do well here but I never seem to remember to look for one and I have the perfect spot too. I needed a good reminder.....