Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Araucaria
Species: A. heterophylla
Binomial name: Araucaria heterophylla
Synonym: Araucaria. excelsa
Common name: Norfolk Island Pine,Norfolk Pine.
The Araucaria heterophylla is an evergreen a conifer of the family Araucariaceae, native to Norfolk Island, situated in the South Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and New Zealand. In nature this pine grows to a height of 60 metres, with a trunk sometimes reaching 3 metres in diameter. This tree is very symmetrical, graceful, and pyramidal, with stiff main branches and drooping lateral branches.
The leaf is spirally arranged, short (12 mm), curved spruce-like needles, dark green above and below. Adult foliage associated with fertile branches is more scale-like, shorter and broader.
Male cones are pendant, 35 mm long; female cones broadly egg-shaped and green, at branch tips. Its fruit is a large cone, up to 17 cm long and 15 cm wide, cone scales bearing a recurved spine, green changing to brown. The trees bark is rough and dark, broken into small plates.
The tree below planting date approx: circa 1851, Photographed at Ratanui, 498 Carrington Road,New Plymouth.
This tree is listed in New Zealand Tree register. For more details visit:
http://register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/102
The branches
A drooping lateral branch with leaves spirally arranged.
The spirally arranged leaves.
The cones.
The trunk of the above tree.
