Birds love to perch at the very top of a tall Cook Pine Tree next to the Backyard. It provides a unique perch vantage as the fast growing tree is one of the tallest around. The new growth pattern at the top of the tree always forms a perfect perch. A favorite hangout of hawks it is also used by almost every other backyard bird at some point. Thanks to Melvin Wei [ Ссылка ] for pointing out that these are Cook Pines and not Norfolk Island Pines as I had thought. The biggest clue is their "rocket shape" compared to the less dense and floppy looking Norfolk Pines. These trees are sold as small ornamentals, but when planted in the yard in a semi-tropical climate like Florida can grow to huge sizes.
Araucaria columnaris, the Coral reef araucaria, Cook pine, New Caledonia pine, Cook araucaria, or columnar araucaria, is a unique species of conifer in the Araucariaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia in the southwestern Pacific, where it was first classified by botanists of Captain James Cook's second voyage of exploration. It is a distinctive narrowly conical tree to 60 metres (200 ft) tall. The female cone is 10–15 cm. long by 7–11 cm. wide.
The Cook pine can reach 60m in natural habit. The relatively short, mostly horizontal branches are in whorls around the slender, upright to slightly leaning trunk. The branches are lined with cord-like, horizontal branchlets. The branchlets are covered with small, green, incurved, point-tipped, spirally arranged, overlapping leaves. The young leaves are needle-like, while the broader adult leaves are triangular and scale-like.
The female seed cones are scaly, egg-shaped, and up to 6 inches (15 cm) long. The smaller, more numerous male pollen cones are at the tips of the branchlets and are scaly, foxtail-shaped, and 2 inches (5 cm) long. The bark of the Cook pine peels off in thin paper-like sheets or strips and is rough, grey, and resinous. The trees have a slender, spire-like crown and look like unusually tall, thin Christmas trees.[2]
The Cook pine is often confused with the Norfolk Island pine because they have a similar appearance. Araucaria columnaris is among the most common Araucarias planted as an ornamental tree and street tree in warm temperate climates. It is cultivated in gardens and public landscapes in Queensland and Victoria, northern New Zealand, southern California, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Hawaii. It also does well in Florida, but subject to hurricane damage.
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