Talk:Araucaria heterophylla

Conservation status 'Vulnerable'??

Norfolk Pines are very widely planted, the tree self seeds, and grows strongly in many countries. The conservation status of 'vulnerable' is defined as "... likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve..." This is simply not true of the Norfolk Pine which is doing very well as things are now, and it is misleading to let this 'status' continue without comment, so I have added a comment that I hope is neutral enough. I'd have rather said, "This is an incorrect classification by politically active conservationists trying to increase the number of threatened species, the Norfolk Pine is well adapted to life around the Pacific and further afield and as a species in excellent shape with the wide distribution protecting it against local risks." I do realise that one is not allowed to express personal opinions in Wikipedia (and realise why this is so), but something has to be done about this status which is clearly not true to anyone who has travelled in New Zealand, Australia or Hawaii. HarveyStoatgobbler (talk) 08:14, 22 March 2010 (UTC) ."

Endemic

What I don't know about plant biology could fill several large buildings, but is it correct to say that a plant is "endemic to" a location if it isn't actually causing any problems? BigHaz 02:13, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)

"Endemic" means "is native to". An endemic plant is very unlikely to cause problems!--APRCooper 16:28, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I also know nothing about plant biology and my plant identification skills are also next to zero. However I am convinced that I have seen these trees, which are very distinctive, in Italy, France, South Africa and India. I presume that they are supposed to have been brought back to Europe by Capt Cook or by someone later, as they are apparently endemic to parts of the world unknown to Europe before then. Perhaps someone can explain then how one of them, unless I am mistaken, has crept into Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation in the Uffizi, which must have been painted a couple of hundred years earlier? Is this perhaps some new kind of da Vinci Code? Mertona 18:07, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

As for the trees in Leonardo's painting, well, one of them does look like A. heterophylla, but so what. The other trees in the painting look a bit fanciful so Leonardo was probably just improvising. Maybe an expert on European conifers could identify the tree if it even was supposed to represent an actual species. Kahuroa 05:11, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Gallery

I have removed the gallery and I have transferred the three images included there to the Wikimedia Commons so that they are available under the Commons link that is on this page. There is a trend to remove galleries anyway - maybe its a policy - as they are regarded as unencylopedic by many. Anyway, this way the images are all conveniently available together in the one place. Kahuroa 10:10, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

On the subject of images, I think we should lead with one from Norfolk Island itself - all the images are from New Zealand. Unfortunately we don't seem to have one available. Richard001 02:18, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

In the interim this has been actioned - taxobox photo is now from Norfolk Island. Kahuroa (talk) 01:59, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Needs

Good quality but needs more sections and ideally some inline citations, as well as a few more refs. Richard001 01:21, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

vandalism?

"The scientific name heteropasASasASasASashylla ("different leaves") " what is that? 200.8.91.26 (talk) 20:47, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Cultivation - Temperature Tolerance

I feel the picture of snow on a Norfolk Island Pine should be deleted. I'd say if 24 hours of exposure to the plant to 30 F is enough to kill the plant, the picture should be deleted. I do not know the details of how much cold the tree can tolerate, I have frequently had the trees as house plants. Wfoj3 (talk) 22:11, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

This tree is a nuisance species in south Florida

You can't legally plant one in south Florida and most people know better and wouldn't anyway. Almost every municipality here considers them a "nuisance." Norfolk Island pine, Australian salt pine and melaleuca were planted as wind breaks along roads and golf courses here many years ago but all are illegal to plant now.

http://archive.naplesnews.com/community/marco-eagle/nuisance-spiraling-whitefly-spreads-from-miami-dade-now-in-marco-island-ep-390711845-333326291.html The Norfolk Island pine is also a host to a an insect that damages many trees.

The bigger problem with the Norfolk Island pine is the size it gets to. http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/qa/norfolk-island-pine There were specimens in my neighborhood that were over 100 feet tall. If it falls in a hurricane it could easily take out 2 houses with it. Any tree that height in suburbia is expensive to remove because someone has to climb to the top and cut off small pieces and work their way down.

I had a coworker whose home was condemned for a school expansion. The pine next to his bedroom window was about twice the diameter of my reach. They look like a cute little Christmas tree in a pot but grow quickly if you put them in the ground. They are not a true pine, either. If you cut off the top they will sprout 2 shoots from the cut and just keep growing. We used to nicknane them Medusa pines because of this. 75.74.16.52 (talk) 01:19, 15 February 2017 (UTC)David