A Norfolk Island pine is not just a houseplant for the holidays
Many people are gifted with potted Norfolk Island Pines during the holidays. My daughter gave this journalist one for Christmas., but I had no idea how to care for it. My curiosity took me on a journey of discovery about the beautiful houseplant.
The Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla), is a vascular plant in a very ancient family of coniferous trees. The family achieved its maximum diversity during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods when it was distributed almost worldwide.
Most of the plants in the Northern Hemisphere vanished in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, and they are now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere. Today, we can find these conifers in the Southern Hemisphere s South Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and New Zealand.