"NÓ de PINHO"  =   Pinetree-Knots    -   Available in São Paulo-City
                      The "Nó de Pinho" (in Brazilian-portuguese stands for "Araucaria-Pinetree-Knot" )  is used so far, exclusively in Brazil, as the best natural firewood available.  Nowadays sold in  10 Kg  or 15 kg. bags. 
.       These "knots", heavy pieces of 'conic-shaped' wood, during many  centuries resisted to decay under the soil. That, long after the trunks which  originated them, were completely decomposed.
     These 'resin-impregnated'-KNOTS (the intersection of the branches to the trunks) remained unchanged in the soil and actually can solely be disintegrated by fire.
The average size is up to 30 cm long by 15 cm diameter.            
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While burning in a fireplace the flame lasts for several hours.  A wise user,  mixes them up with mature Eucalyptus firewood, in order to provide longer intense heating, saving the precious knots.

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"Pinhão"    -   Araucaria edible seeds 


"Pinhão"  (Araucaria - seed)
An Araucaria-seed-MEAL        Photo Angela Hering
To Cook, Boil 15 minutes
A  5  year old Araucaria tree 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uy2G0tDTXcE&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
BACK                      Adult Araucaria
This is a  young tree, compared to the several hundred years old
 Araucarias, which grew in Brazil as the continent was discovered

    Araucaria-crown  ( After 70 years )
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Pine knots availability:   Every year they become more scarce.  We may anticipate that in a decade or so the "Nó de Pinho" will not be available anymore. The ones presently used are remnants of the trees which existed hundreds or thousand years ago.

Origin: For hundreds of years, those huge Araucaria-trunks kept falling to the ground due to "aging" (the end of their life cycle), or being  struck by lightnings, fires  etc. 
 Nowadays, while plowing their land, farmers collect the knots found, pile them up for being provided with an "additional income", selling them as "fire-wood". 
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The Brazilian South East  was for thousands of years covered by the so called  "Atlantic Forest"
( Brazilian designation for Native forests along the Atlantic coast).  Particularly in the brazilian Southern States: Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, one of the dominant species was the  ARAUCARIA, also designated "Pinheiro do Paraná"  - araucaria angustifolia and araucaria brasiliensis.          
                                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Z5nmToo-w

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These trees reached up to 52 meters height and their trunk up to 8,5 meters circumference. Their cones are shaped like a ball with over 30 cm diameter and provide seeds averaging 6 cm length. (These are edible for humans and a "treat"for animals...  ( boiled with addition of some salt and butter,  a  "treat" for humans).
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The lumber industry (thousands of saw-mills) exploited these Araucaria forests almost to exhaustion, mainly for export.  That "boom" provided thousands of jobs, lasted  until last century( mid  1950's)
Brazilian authorities nowadays  protect the natural forests and particularly the remnants of Araucaria forests. These days, the cutting of any Araucaria, as well as any native tree, requires a special permit from the local environment department.
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Sample of thousands of ARAUCARIAS being planted at Castanheiras Reserve - for posterity
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