An unusual “Christmas tree” in a garden in Bangalore

WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT Christmas trees, I envisage a smallish pine tree that is roughly conical in shape. Today, I noticed a tall conifer growing in a garden in Bangalore. Attached to it there was a metal label identifying it as “Christmas tree. Araucaria cookei.” This tree bore no resemblance to any Christmas tree I have ever seen.

I used the Internet to look up ‘Aracauria cookei’, and learned that it is commonly known as ‘Captain Cook’s Pine’. It was first ‘discovered in New Caledonia by a botanist travelling with Captain Cook on his Second Voyage (between 1772 and 1775).

One botanical website revealed that when planted in a pot, this tree can be used as an alternative to regular Christmas trees. Other websites describing this plant make no mention of this. In any case, the specimen I saw labelled in Bangalore was taller than an average three-storey building. It was far too tall to be used as a Christmas tree.