Araucaria heterophylla

(Salisb.) Franco (1952)

Common names

Norfolk Island pine.

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Abies columbaria Desf. 1815; Eutassa heterophylla Salis. 1807.

Description

Monoecious evergreen trees to 70 m tall and 60 cm dbh, with a conical crown. Bark gray-brown, exfoliating in fine scales. Branches in a flat horizontal plane, sometimes pendent, twigs in whorls of 4-7. Foliage dimorphic. Juvenile leaves awl-shaped, incurved, green, needle-like, to 12 mm long. Adult leaves scale-like, 4-5 mm long, incurved, densely arranged, bright dark green; on fertile branchlets overlapping, broadly ovate, spine-tipped, 6 × 4-6 mm. Pollen cones in clusters, elongated, 4 cm long, yellowish-brown or reddish; microsporophylls acute, margins ciliate, denticulate. Seed cones broader than long, 12-15 cm long, with triangular scales and a long incurved bract. Seeds 25-30 × 12 mm, with broad wings. Cotyledons 4, epigeal (Silba 1986). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Unless you happen to be on Norfolk Island, you will most likely see planted specimens of this species. These are often confused with Cook pine, Araucaria columnaris. A. columnaris has a narrow, columnar, and frequently leaning trunk with densely grouped horizontal to drooping branches, while A. heterophylla has a more open, pyramidal crown with straight, ascending branches. See this link for a photo comparison.

Distribution and Ecology

Endemic to Norfolk Island, a 35 km² island located 1400 km E of Australia; and also Philip Island, a 2 km² island 6 km S of Norfolk Island. The species grows at elevations of 0-120(-318) m. The substrate is mainly silicate, derived from basalt. The climate is subtropical with about 1350 mm rainfall per year, and little seasonal variation. Originally the trees occurred as emergents over an evergreen forest of angiosperms and tree ferns about 10-20 m tall, but little of that vegetation remains and the species now occurs mostly on coastal headlands or in small groves with grasses and open scrub dominated by non-native species (Farjon 2010). The species is also a popular ornamental in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, California, and other places, nearly all with maritime, warm-temperate to tropical climates; in many of these places, naturalized specimens have been found. Hardy to Zone 9 (cold hardiness limit between -6.6°C and -1.1°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

In 2019 the IUCN assessed this species as "Vulnerable" due to its very limited distribution, with continued survival largely dependent upon conservation programs. The assessment warns that "If those programmes were halted, the species could very quickly become Critically Endangered". Farjon (2010) warned that "the tiny population on Philip Island is critically endangered."

Remarkable Specimens

The tallest is a tree on Norfolk Island: 245 cm dbh, 55.0 m tall, 2019 measurement; the Australia co-champion tree, it grows on private land on Anson Bay Road (National Register of Big Trees 2026). This tree is also probably the largest by volume.

Trees as tall as 57 m have been recorded in the past, and this photograph, taken ca. 1900-1906, shows a tree 37 feet in girth at 5 feet off the ground, which works out to at least 359 cm dbh (thanks to Matt Smillie for finding this photo, 2016.05.30).

Other noteworthy trees include:

Locality	dbh (cm)	height (m)	Date measured	Notes	Citation
Norfolk Is.	269	43.0	2012	170 years old, planted. Popularly called the Hollow Pine, it can be seen in the National Park.	Norfolk Island National Park 2007, National Register of Big Trees 2012
Norfolk Is.	166	54.0	2018	Naturally regenerated in primary forest.	National Register of Big Trees 2026
Norfolk Is.	271	50.0	2019	Private land on Douglas Drive; Australia co-champion.	National Register of Big Trees 2026
Warkworth, NZ	317.6	34.6	2009	The Grange Tree, planted in the 1850's, it has the largest diameter of any living specimen.	New Zealand Notable Trees AR/753
Tauranga, NZ	156	52.6	2016	At Yatton Park; tallest in NZ.	New Zealand Notable Trees BPR/1372
Hawaii, USA	176.3	44.8	2025	At Waimea on the Big Island; largest in USA.	Robert Van Pelt email 2026.01.26
Hawaii, USA	156.0	54.3	2025	At Kula on Maui; tallest in USA.	Robert Van Pelt email 2026.01.26
Cape Town, South Africa	211	44.8	2003	At Arderne Gardens.	Robert Van Pelt pers. comm. 2003.11.24
Lisbon, Portugal	220	48.2	2018	Largest specimen in Europe.	Monumental Trees 2026.01.28
Málaga, Spain	111	52.0	2022	Tallest specimen in Europe.	Monumental Trees 2026.01.28

The Yatton Park tree listed above is thought to have been planted in 1848, making it the oldest documented tree. The trees occurring on Norfolk Island may very well be older, but ages have not been documented.

Ethnobotany

"Captain Cook thought the pine would provide 'Masts for the largest Ships' but it was found later to be unsuitable for masts. It proved a useful timber for other purposes however" (Norfolk Island Botanical Gardens home page, accessed 1998, now defunct).

In the United States, at least, the majority of trees sold on the mass market as "Norfolk Island Pine" are, in fact, Araucaria columnaris, the pin colonnaire of New Caledonia. Seed orchards in Hawaii are the principal source for this stock (discussions on Facebook "Tropical Conifers" group, August 2024). However, both species are reasonably common as ornamentals in warm-temperate parts of the U.S., such as southern California and Florida.

Observations

It can only be seen in habitat on Norfolk Island, where it is plentiful. "The iconic conifer species of Norfolk Island grows from sea level to the twin summits of Mt Pitt/Mt Bates in the National park. Usually, we have to search for target plants on our jaunts, but here you land among them. They could be photographed and collected without leaving the airport!" Some of the best trees, though, are in the Botanical Garden and in the Hundred Acre Wood. As the island is only 8 km across, these should be fairly easy to find (Watt 2025).

It is very widely planted in New Zealand, where it was native as recently as the Pleistocene (Graeme Platt, pers. comm. 2003.03.12).

Remarks

"Young trees have an almost symmetrical form for the first 40 years or so. Female cones are produced on trees older than 15 years and male cones on trees older than 40 years. Prolific seed fall occurs every 4-5 [years] and the seeds are a popular food source for the Green Parrot and introduced rats" (Norfolk Island Botanical Gardens home page, accessed 1998, now defunct).

For pollination mechanisms, see Araucaria.

Citations

Franco. 1952. Anais. do Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Lisboa, v. 19 p. 11.

National Register of Big Trees. 2012. Tree Register: National Registry of Big Trees. www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au, accessed 2012.06.23.

National Register of Big Trees. 2026. Tree register. https://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/pages/tree-register, accessed 2026.01.28.

Norfolk Island National Park. 2007. Norfolk Island National Park. http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/norfolk/activities.html, accessed 2007.05.28, now defunct.

Watt, Alistair. 2025. A visit to Norfolk Island, September 2025. Bits 'n' Bytes Botanical, Nov-2025, pp. 1-10.

See also

The PROTA database account for this species (accessed 2019.02.28). PROTA accounts are focused on commercial forest uses in Africa, and typically include photographs, drawings, names, distribution, and a variety of information relevant to management of the species.

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.