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{{Taxobox
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Saintpaulia''
| name = ''Araucaria heterophylla''
| image = Purple_African_Violet_Top.JPG
| status = VU
| status_system = iucn2.3
| image = Norfolkpine001.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = a ''Saintpaulia ionantha'' cultivar
| image_caption = Young Norfolk Island Pines
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| divisio = [[Pinophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| classis = [[Pinophyta|Pinopsida]]
| ordo = [[Lamiales]]
| ordo = [[Pinales]]
| familia = [[Gesneriaceae]]
| familia = [[Araucariaceae]]
| genus = '''''Saintpaulia''''' [[Johann Christoph Wendland|J.C.Wendl.]]
| genus = ''[[Araucaria]]''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| species = ''A. heterophylla''
| binomial = ''Araucaria heterophylla''
''[[Saintpaulia brevipilosa]]''<br/>
| binomial_authority = ([[Richard Anthony Salisbury|Salisb.]]) Franco
''[[Saintpaulia confusa]]''<br/>
}}
}}
[[Image:AraucariaHfoliage.jpg|left|thumb|220px|''Araucaria heterophylla'' foliage from a mature tree]]
'''''Araucaria heterophylla''''' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a distinctive [[Pinophyta|conifer]], a member of the ancient and now disjointly distributed family [[Araucariaceae]]. As its vernacular name '''Norfolk Island Pine''' implies, the tree is [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[Norfolk Island]], though it is not a [[pine]]. The genus [[Araucaria]] occurs across the South Pacific, especially concentrated in [[New Caledonia]] (about 700 km due north of Norfolk Island) where 13 closely related and similar-appearing species are found. The trees grow to a height of 50-65 m, with straight vertical trunks and symmetrical branches, even in the face of incessant onshore winds that can contort most other species.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are awl-shaped, 1-1.5 cm long, about 1 mm thick at the base on young trees, and incurved, 5-10 mm long and variably 2-4 mm broad on older trees, the thickest, scale-like leaves on coning branches in the upper crown. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are squat globose, 10-12 cm long and 12-14 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the [[nut (fruit)|nut]]-like edible [[seed]]s.
The genus is named after [[Baron Walter von Saint Paul Illaire]], the district commissioner of [[Tanga Province|Tanga]] province who discovered the plant in [[Tanganyika]] (now [[Tanzania]]) in [[Africa]] in [[1892]] and sent seeds back to his father, an amateur botanist in [[Germany]]. Two British plant enthusiasts, Sir John Kirk and Reverend W.E. Taylor, had earlier collected and submitted specimens to [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] in [[1884]] and [[1887]] respectively, but the quality of specimens was insufficient to permit scientific description at that time. The genus ''Saintpaulia'', and original species ''S. ionantha'', were officially described by [[Johann Christoph Wendland|J.C. Wendland]] in 1893.
The scientific name ''heterophylla'' ("different leaves") derives from the variation in the leaves between young and adult plants.
==Cultivation and uses==
Its distinctive appearance, with widely spaced branches and a symmetrical, triangular outline, has made it a popular cultivated species, either as a single tree or in avenues. When the tree reaches maturity, the shape may become less symmetrical. As well as in its native Norfolk Island, it is widely planted in [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Florida]], [[Hawaii]], [[South Africa]] and southern [[California]].
It grows well in deep sand, as long as it receives reliable water when young. This, and its tolerance of salt and wind, makes it ideal for coastal situations.
[[Image:AraucariaHeterophyllaAK.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Mature Norfolk Island Pine in Auckland, New Zealand]]
[[Image:Pink_African_Violet.jpg|thumb|left|A pink, double-flowered cultivar]]
Young trees are often grown as houseplants in areas where the winters are too cold for them to grow outside (they will not, for example, survive outdoors in most of the [[United States]] or [[Europe]], but are sometimes used as [[Christmas tree]]s there, as elsewhere). Some people may experience a strong [[allergic]] reaction if they touch the leaves. The timber is good for [[woodturning]], and is extensively used by Hawaiian craftspeople. However, British explorer [[James Cook]] unsuccessfully used these trees as ship masts when exploring Norfolk Island. Large numbers of Norfolk Island Pines are produced in South Florida for the [[houseplant]] industry. The bulk of these are shipped to grocery stores, discount retailers and garden centers during November. Many of these are sprayed with a light coating of green paint prior to sale to increase their eye appeal.
In Florida, these trees are subject to [[frost]] damage and as a result produce multiple stems with weakly attached trunks. In the [[2004]] [[hurricane]] season, many of these trees failed under the 160 km/h winds. Some coastal communities (e.g. Vero Beach) prohibit their use as a tree in local landscape plan approvals.
In the US it is sometimes called a star pine, due to its symetrical shape as a sapling.
==References and external links==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=Conifer Specialist Group|year=1998|id=30497|title=Araucaria heterophylla|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Listed as Vulnerable (VU B1+2c v2
.3)
*[http://www.conifers.org/ar/ar/heterophylla.htm Gymnosperm Database: ''Araucaria heterophylla'']
{{Commons|Araucaria heterophylla}}
[[Category:Araucariaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Norfolk Island]]
[[Category:Gesneriaceae]]
[[Category:Garden plants]]
