Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos

First published 28th June 2026

“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”

This gorgeous thing is one of our many local equivalents of the majestic oak — a baby Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) shedding its seed coat. The Norfolk Island Pine is not a true pine, but it is a gymnosperm, and specifically a conifer like true pines. Conifers produce cones with seeds, and this seed was about 2 cm long and wide at the widest part:


copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos

And ta-da! Is this what you imagine an emerging Norfolk Island Pine seedling to look like?!


copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos

Those leaves are the cotelydons, or “seed leaves”. It is very common for the first leaves of many seedlings to look nothing like the foliage which follows.

This bud in the middle and atop the cotyledons will grow the leader of what has the potential to reach 60 or more metres in height:


copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos

Mighty conifers from little cone seeds grow!