Araucaria excelsa Seeds | Norfolk Island Pine
LATIN NAME: Araucaria excelsa (syn. Araucaria heterophylla)
COMMON NAME: Norfolk Island Pine
Plant Profile
The naming muddle is the first thing a grower meets. Salisbury described the plant from Norfolk Island material and gave it the epithet heterophylla; a few years later the same tree was published as Araucaria excelsa, and that second name took hold in horticulture, where it is still printed on plant labels and trade lists. Since the earlier epithet has priority, the accepted name is now Araucaria heterophylla, and searches for the older one lead to the same tree. Nothing about the plant changed when the name did.
Norfolk Island was settled partly in the hope that its tall straight pines would supply spars for naval ships. The trees were felled and tried, and the timber proved too brittle and knotty for the purpose, a disappointment that shaped the early history of the island. The wood was later found serviceable in smaller pieces, and the species moved instead into gardens. The related Araucaria species of South America and Australia are grown for their edible seeds, and the family is an old one: araucarian foliage is recognisable in Jurassic rocks, making this a lineage that predates most of the flowering plants in a modern garden.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is dioecious, with male and female cones on separate trees, so a seed crop needs both sexes and a way for pollen to travel between them. Male cones are long, cylindrical and borne in clusters at the branch tips; female cones are heavy, globose and carry broad scales, each with a single large seed that has a thin wing on one side. The cone disintegrates as it ripens, releasing the seed onto the ground rather than dropping whole. That two-house arrangement, combined with the isolation of a small island, is why the species has a narrow genetic base in cultivation.
Uses & Benefits
Araucaria seed does not keep. It is described as recalcitrant: it cannot be dried to a low moisture content and stored cold the way cereal seed can, because the embryo dies if it is desiccated. Seed therefore travels in damp packing and is sown promptly after harvest, and commercial plants are raised from seed rather than from cuttings, which root only reluctantly. The genus is also difficult in tissue culture, and the family is generally treated as recalcitrant in micropropagation, so the nursery trade remains a seedling business, with all the variation that implies.
Indoors the tree wants bright light from all sides, so turn the pot a little every week to keep the crown symmetrical. Water thoroughly and then let the surface dry before watering again; a plant that stands in a saucer of water loses its lower branches first. Repot in spring while the roots still have room, and keep the plant away from hot, dry air.
Outdoors the species needs a frost-free, maritime climate with winter temperatures that stay well above freezing. It tolerates salt spray and wind better than most conifers, which is why it lines so many mild coasts, and it takes poor sandy soil provided drainage is good. Give it space, because the whorled branches are its whole charm and a crowded tree loses them.
Growing from Seed
The epithet heterophylla means different-leaved, and the tree earns it twice over. A seedling carries soft awl-shaped needles, long and curved, which is the foliage most houseplants show. As the tree matures the leaves shorten into tightly overlapping scales, packed along the branch like armour. Then comes the twist: new shoots on a mature tree revert to awl leaves, so a branch tip on a tall specimen can look exactly like a young plant. The branches are borne in regular whorls that give the crown its tiered outline, and the whole tree is so regular that it is sometimes mistaken for a manufactured object.
Our Take
Fresh seed, an open mix and a bright window are most of what this tree needs; the rest is patience and a steady hand with the watering can. The genus is worth exploring further: hoop pine is the taller rainforest relative from eastern Australia, monkey puzzle is the hardier Chilean species with spiny leaves, and Wollemi pine is the newly discovered member of the same ancient family. For a conifer that copes indoors and out, stone pine is another seed-grown option for a sunny room.
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