PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A species of tree known for its large, heavy pine cones that recently crushed the skull of a Navy veteran in San Francisco can also be found in Oregon.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Sean Mace — who was allegedly hit in the head with a 16-pound pine cone — is suing the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park for $5 million.
The heavy pine cones come from monkey puzzle trees, also called Araucaria araucana.
In Portland, the monkey puzzle trees even have their own Facebook page.
“We see these trees all over town,” Deby Barnat with Cornell Farm said. “There’s a difference between the males and females. The males don’t produce cones in the way the females [do]… When they drop they can be totally fatal to someone if they hit you on the head.”
Pine cones from female trees can grow to be pumpkin-sized and weigh nearly 2 dozen pounds.
A majority of Portland’s monkey puzzle trees are male, which means their pine cones are less deadly.
Several of them have been registered as heritage trees, which means there are limits on cutting them down.
“Just having something that, you know, is gonna be around way past when you are here… for your children and grandchildren,” Barnat said. “That’s kind of a legacy and that’s very cool.”The Associated Press contributed to this report