Araucaria heterophylla
Common name: 
Norfolk Island Pine
Pronunciation: 
a-row-KAH-ree-a het-er-o-FIL-a
Family: 
Araucariaceae
Genus: 
Araucaria
Type: 
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Evergreen tree, conifer (but not a pine), grows to 230 ft (70 m) high under very favorable conditions, branches in whorls of 4-7.  Bark exfoliates in thin layers.  Leaves (needles) in two forms, on young plants and side branches needles are soft, awl-shaped, bowed inward, and not overlapping; on mature trees the leaves are scale-like and overlapping, about 0.6 cm long (mature form not usually seen on plants in cultivation).  Seed cones erect, usually wider than high (to 12 cm wide by 10 cm tall); seeds about 2.5 cm long and less than 0.2 cm wide.
  • Sun.  Very wind and salt tolerant.  Cultivated in warmer regions or as a greenhouse or house plant in colder areas.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 10-11 (tropical)   Native to Norfolk Island, a small island (about 4 by 5 miles) in the southern Pacific Ocean, east of Australia.  There are a number of selections with varying needle color and shape.
  • heterophylla: a reference to the differences in leaf forms.
Click image to enlarge
  • growing on an island in northern New Zealand

    growing on an island in northern New Zealand

  • plant habit, young tree

    plant habit, young tree

  • plant habit, older tree

    plant habit, older tree

  • large tree, planted in 1890, Paihia, New Zealand

    large tree, planted in 1890, Paihia, New Zealand

  • branch

    branch

  • leaves

    leaves

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark