The Flat Cap Gardener

Horticulture with a little nature thrown in

New Caledonian Pine-Araucaria columnaris

The New Caledonian Pine, Araucaria columnaris, is a tree in my favourite genus of pine trees (Araucaria). They are attractive trees, with this particular species being a particular favourite. All trees of this species lean towards the equator. Scientists aren’t sure why, but no matter where these trees go, they do have a good lean on them! the binomial name has the following meanings:

Araucaria-in named after the Araucaria Indians who come from central Chile, where there are native species of Araucaria present.
Columnaris-used because of the shape of the tree, which is rather columnar.

In form, the New Caledonian Pine is narrow and columnar. It can reach up to 65 metres tall. In its native New Caledonia, the tree often grows on calcareous soils, but is quite happy to grow on other soils too. the wood of the tree is light brown and fine grained. It is often used in carpentry.

A fine example in Sydney’s botanic gardens

Juvenile leaves are are awl-like up to thirteen millimetres long and have a pointed tip. Adult leaves are more triangular in shape, being around five millimetres in length.

New Caledonian pines have both male and female cones. The male cones are cylindrical in shape to seven centimetres long by two centimetres wide. They appear in clusters, at the end of drooping branches towards the bottom of the tree. The female cones are located further up the tree on its upper branches. They are elliptical in shape to fifteen centimetres long and twelve centimetres wide. They are wind pollinated. When mature, the female cones get broken apart-this releases the reddish-brown seed scales, which are around four centimetres long and contain one seed each.

Fossil records show that the New Caledonian pine was around at the time of the dinosaurs and that they used to grow in the northern hemisphere.

This is a tree that I would have in my garden in a heartbeat. I love the fact that it has a random lean towards the equator. I find it a really good looking tree to have around.