Morphology
The trees grow to a height of 50–65 m, with straight vertical trunks and symmetrical branches, even in the face of incessant onshore winds that can contort most other species.
The leaves are awl-shaped, 1-1.5 cm long, about 1 mm thick at the base on young trees, and incurved, 5–10 mm long and variably 2–4 mm broad on older trees. The thickest, scale-like leaves on coning branches are in the upper crown. The cones are squat globose, 10–12 cm long and 12–14 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds.
The scientific name heterophylla ("different leaves") derives from the variation in the leaves between young and adult plants.
Read more about this topic: Araucaria Heterophylla
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