Melissa Evans, age 14, of Burlington, North Carolina, for her question:

Where did the monkey tree originate?

In certain warm, moist climates we can find two very different monkey trees. One is the low, wide spreading monkeypod tree that grows from Florida all the way south to Brazil: This tropical tree is a giant member of the pea family with dainty leaves that spread out flat only when the sun is shining.

There are about 10 different monkey puzzle trees and they belong together in a plant family of their own. These tall, magnificent trees are evergreen conifers and native to South America, Australia and many Pacific islands. They can be coaxed to grow in warm, sheltered regions of Europe and North America, and any one of them is an eye catching tree in an ordinary park or garden. Its rich, dark trunk stands tall and slim and its slender branches curve around this way and that like a tangle of monkey tails. Its stiff, flat pine needles resemble scales and one of the South American trees bears delicious plum type fruit.