The Monkey Puzzle is valued for its uniqueness and natural beauty, providing important tourism and recreational opportunities. For that reason, it is often used as an emblem by the national parks and provinces of both Chile and Argentina. As an ornamental tree, it is very popular in gardens of Europe and America. The Monkey Puzzle is of great historic and social importance as the seeds form an important part of the diet of South American indigenous people called the Pehuenche. The tree is frequently used to reconstruct climatic conditions from the past by measuring the growth rings of the trunk, which in many cases may go back hundreds of years.

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