  
 
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a Gondwanan natural distribution in New Caledonia (where 13 species are endemic), Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil. The genus is familiar to many people as the genus of the distinctive Chilean pine or monkey-puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana. No distinct vernacular name exists for the genus. Many are called "pine", although they are only distantly related to true pines, in the genus Pinus.
  
  Araucaria heterophylla is a distinctive conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island Pine implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It makes an unusual but beautiful bonsai. Originally from Norfolk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean, this tree can reach 60m in the wild but in containers, its height is restricted by the pot size. It is sometimes called a 'star pine', 'triangle tree' or 'living christmas tree', due to its symmetrical shape as a sapling, although it is not a true pine. The trees grow with straight vertical trunks and symmetrical branches, even in the face of incessant onshore winds that can contort most other species. The scientific name heterophylla ("different leaves") derives from the variation in the leaves between young and adult plants.
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. Young trees are often grown as houseplants in areas where the winters are too cold for them to grow outside and are sometimes used as Christmas trees. It will not survive in areas subject to prolonged cold.
   
  
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