#monkey puzzle

Plant of the Day

Sunday 15 March 2026

Fossils from the Jurassic period show that trees very similar to Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle, Chile pine, money puzzle tree) have been growing for around 200 million years. These plants are part of Edinburgh Botanic Garden, Scotland, conservation work as despite surviving for so long, this species is now endangered in its native habitat across South America.

The Saints - Let's Pretend (1981)

I had been thinking about posting this song even before Chris Bailey’s recent untimely death.  It’s from the first LP after Ed Kuepper left the band.   The sound is more jangly, not a miles away from what R.E.M. was pursuing around the same time.  As always, Chris Bailey’s vocals and lyrics are the centerpiece of the song. R.I.P.

PATHFINDERS - The Leshy Investigator

In Pathfinder First Edition, Leshy were the "plant familiars" of nature-bound spellcasters, not being much larger than adult halflings, created when a spirit unable to manipulate the physical world is summoned by a master of primal magic, usually for a body composed of plant or fungal materials, cultivated from specific and complicated rituals. In Second Edition, these creatures keep much of their previous aspects intact, being able to be companions and familiars of primal spellcasters, but also becoming an ancestry of their own, endowed with powerful spirits capable of coming on their own terms to the material plane, being another of the unique possibilities for players within the world of Golarion.

For this little lady I chose to be inspired by an Araucaria pine, more specifically by the so-called Paraná Pine, which is the darling symbol of my home state. I wasn't sure if this Leshy would be female until I drew the pinecones on the sides of her head, as they are only present on female trees, while males have ironically phallic structures called aments. Also because the genus Araucaria is very old - with fossils dating from the Jurassic period -, I thought it was very fair to make this lady an older Leshy Investigator, especially considering that members of this ancestry tend to live for a long time, being full of experience in her methodology of Alchemical Sciences, making use of chemistry to solve mysteries.