Norfolk Island Pine – Araucaria heterophylla

Common Name: Norfolk Island Pine, Star Pine

Botanical Name: Araucaria heterophylla, a-row-KAH-ree-a he-te-ro-FIL-a

Decorative Life: Years.

Availability: Year Round

• Member of the Araucariaceae (araucaria family).
• Native to Chile and Norfolk Island, an island in the South Pacific, about 930 miles north of Sidney.
• Related species include Monkey-Puzzle.

• Leaves are stiff, dark green, needle-like and crowded on branches. Branches emerge from center stem in tiers and are parallel to the ground.
• Classed as a gymnosperm meaning naked seeds.
• Plant is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 220 feet with a trunk diameter of 10 feet in its native habitat.

Chill sensitive, can be stored at 50-65F for 4 weeks. However, storage at 36F for 4 days did not harm plants. Can tolerate short temperature durations at 25F. May require restaking after shipment in order to maintain the proper shape.

• The specific epithet name of heterophylla means various leafed.
• Araucaria: from Arauco, a province in Southern Chile.
• Named for the Duke of Norfolk by Captain James Cook in 1774 at the same time the island was given the same name.
• While this species will generally grow well in light levels bright enough to read a newspaper in comfort, higher light levels are preferred.
• Do not attempt to separate multi stem plants as death to some or all of the stems will often result.

Poole and Conover (1993) stored this species at 36-46F from 1-4 days and subsequently noted no damage.