Araucaria heterophylla is a vascular plant in the ancient and now disjointly distributed conifer family Araucariaceae. As its name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, about 1,440 km (890 mi) east of Sydney, Australia but is cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. The genus Araucaria occurs across the South Pacific, especially concentrated in New Caledonia (about 700 km or 430 mi due north of Norfolk Island) where 13 closely related and similar-appearing species are found. It is sometimes called a star pine, Polynesian pine, triangle tree or living Christmas tree, due to its symmetrical shape as a sapling, although it is not a true pine.
The first European known to have sighted Norfolk Island was Captain James Cook. In 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific in HMS Resolution, Cook noted the presence of large forests of tall, straight trees that appeared to be suitable for use as masts and yards for sailing ships. However, when the island was occupied in 1788 by convicts transported from Britain, it was found that Norfolk Island pine trees were not resilient enough for those uses and the industry was abandoned.
In the late 1950s, a trial shipment of Norfolk pine logs was sent to plywood manufacturers in Sydney, Australia, with the hope of developing a timber export industry on Norfolk Island. Although the plywood companies reported excellent results, the industry was deemed not sustainable by the Norfolk Island Advisory Council, which decided to reserve timber production for local use. The timber is good for woodturning and, together with the similar Cook pine, is extensively used by Hawaii artisans
SIZE: They're about (15-30cm) in length on average, These fronds will leach little tannins into the water, and are more for decorative purposes.
PREPARATION: You need to boil Norfolk Pine Fronds for at least an hour (sometimes a bit more) to really saturate them, because they do float when first immersed.
ORIGIN: Native to Norfolk Island but collected from Avoca NSW
All our Australian Botanicals are pest and pollution free and are organically sourced.
NOTE: These are a natural product, and display variation in colour, size, and texture. Each pod is unique! The photo serves as a reasonable representation of what to expect.
All of our aquatic botanicals are intended for ornamental aquarium or terrarium use only. Please use common sense and take the time to boil or soak all botanicals prior to using them, to reduce the possibility of problems. All our botanicals have been tried and tested, in saying that though go slow when introducing any botanicals into your systems, so you can judge the effect they have on your fishes and plants. They are not intended for human consumption. DO NOT INGEST!
NOT INTENDED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION