English Name: Norfolk Island Pine
Malayalam Name:
Botanical Name: Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco
Family: Araucariaceae
Flowering & Fruiting:
Description: Coniferous tree (not a true pine, despite the common name), 50-70m tall. The Crown is narrowly conical, with branchlets in 4-7 symmetrical whorls. Form relatively upright, occasionally with a slight lean. Young leaves are smaller and wedge-shaped; mature leaves are larger, incurved, scale-like, and spiral densely around twigs; hence the species name ‘heterophylla’ (different leaves). During foliage shed, whole twigs (rather than individual leaves) fell. Instead of flowers, a tree produces cones, with male and female cones on separate trees. Male cones are cylindrical, yellow-brown or reddish in colour, and produce pollen; female cones are broad, with triangular scales and a bract. Fruits are dehiscent woody cones with winged, nut-like edible seeds that are rarely produced in cultivation. Plant is suitable for specimen or mass planting in groves due to its distinctive architectural crown.