Hello all,

I know that most here probably don't care to discuss these conifers in this forum, but I thought it might be the best place to at least start since they are after all, conifers.

I have been meaning to post this here lately, but keep forgetting to do so. Anyway...

I have two several "Norfolk Island Pines" Araucaria Heteropylla. One pot of them I purchased recently, the others (two) I have had for 2 years now.

The ones I have had the longest one is about 3 feet tall, and one is about 10" tall. The large one was purchased from someone in my neighborhood who sells plants in his shop. The small one was one I kept out of pots of small ones that had many in one pot. I bought several pots of them a couple Christmases ago and separated them into single plants in one pot to give out as gifts at a function. Anyway, these two look identical, only difference is in size.

The newer ones I have were also grouped 4 in a pot, and are all about 2.5-3 feet tall. These I purchased a couple months ago from a reputable high end nursery here in my area.

The ones that I purchased recently are rather strikingly different looking (while still looking the almost the same) as the two older ones I have had for a couple years. Noticing this difference has made me wonder if possibly the newer once I had gotten ahold of are actually Araucaria Columnaris (Cook Island Pine) vs A. Heterophylla (Norfolk Island Pine).

Having done substantial research on them I really can not determine if what I have are in fact the two different species. I was hoping that someone here would be able to help.

Below are photos of two of them. One of the older ones (the larger one) and one of the newer ones.( the largest one) You can clearly see the difference between the two in terms of grow habit. So my questions are, are these that I have in fact two different species here, or, are they both the same and are just very dramatically different growth habits? To me one looks alot more like a A. Columnaris than the other. What do you think? Here are the photos.

The older one that I think looks more like a Norfolk Island Pine (A. Heterophylla) is first, followed by the one I think looks much more like a Cook Island Pine. (A. Columnaris)

Thanks for any help!