Its appearance stopped me in my tracks since I had never seen a tree like this. Turns out, it's not as delicate as I first guessed. From Wikipedia:
Araucaria araucana (commonly called the Monkey Puzzle Tree, Monkey Tail Tree, Piñonero, Pewen or Chilean Pine) is an evergreen tree growing to 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in diameter and 30–40 m (100–130 ft) in height. It is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Because of the prevalence of similar species in ancient prehistory, it is sometimes called a living fossil. It is also the national tree of Chile. Its conservation status was changed to Endangered by the IUCN in 2013 due to the dwindling population caused by logging, forest fires, and grazing.
The leaves are thick, tough, and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm (1+1/4–1+1/2 in) long, 1–3 cm (1/2–1+1/4 in) broad at the base, and with sharp edges and tips, rather similar to the leaves of the unrelated succulent plant, Crassula muscosa. According to Lusk, the leaves have an average lifespan of 24 years[3] and so cover most of the tree except for the older branches.
It is usually dioecious, with the male and female cones on separate trees, though occasional individuals bear cones of both sexes. The male (pollen) cones are oblong and cucumber-shaped, 4 cm (1.5 in) long at first, expanding to 8 – 12 cm (3 – 4.5 in) long by 5 – 6 cm (2 – 2.5 in) broad at pollen release. It is wind pollinated. The female (seed) cones, which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 12 – 20 cm (4.5 – 8 in) in diameter, and hold about 200 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the 3 – 4 cm (1.25 – 1.5 in) long nut-like seeds.
The thick bark of Araucaria araucana may be an adaptation to wildfire.