A Norfolk Island pine in Wynnum. Photo by Kat Pearson.
BY KAT PEARSON, GIRL IN THE GREEN
Following on from our previous foray into Moreton Bay figs, another foreshore staple is the Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla). Not, in fact, a pine, but related, so we’ll forgive that. The Norfolk Island part is real, though – they are endemic to (i.e. only found natively on) the tiny Norfolk Island, having evolved in isolation from other Araucaria species found in the Pacific.
Luckily, waaay back in 1774, Captain Cook spied them and thought they’d make great ship masts, being so straight and tall. He was wrong – they were too weak, but they soon became popular ornamental trees, both in Britain and Australia, where they were commonly planted as landmarks (shout out to the trees on Shore Street North in Cleveland, which were planted in the early 1860s). They also make good houseplants and an alternative Christmas tree for warmer climates.
Norfolk Island pines are slow-growing but can reach 50-70 m, with straight trunks and an overall pyramidal shape. Young trees have branches that are horizontal to upright, but branches on old trees (the Norfolk Island locals told me the ‘over 60s’) start to droop. A bit like humans, I guess!
Each ‘level’ of the tree has around five evenly spaced branches that are made up of scaley leaves – they are actually quite different to the slender needles of real pine trees. Just like other Araucaria species, they are usually dioecious, meaning there are male and female trees – the difference lies in the cones they produce. Male cones are usually smaller and less obvious, whilst the female cones are larger. The birds and bees story is: pollen from the male cones’ floats on the wind to the female cones, the female cones are fertilised, seeds are formed, the female cones fall and disintegrate, the seeds fall out, they germinate, and voila! Baby Norfolk Island pines.
Other popular Norfolk Island pine relatives are the Aussie native Bunya pine (A. budwillii) with their HUGE edible bush tucker cones and the similar-looking Hoop pine (A. cunninghamii). To tell the difference between the Hoop pine and the Norfolk Island pine (both of them are popular in our area), look at the form of the tree. Hoop pine trees have a ‘lumpier’ look with the leaves clustered more densely in blobs towards the end of branches. The bark of a Hoop pine also flakes horizontally (this is where hoop pine mulch comes from!), whilst the Norfolk Island pine trunk is smoother.
