The story of , widely known today as the Norfolk Island Pine , is a tale of ancient survival, mistaken identity, and eventual global fame as a "living Christmas tree." 1. A Relic of the Dinosaur Age
: Seeing the trees' perfectly straight trunks—often reaching over 60 meters (200 feet)—Cook and his botanist, Joseph Banks, believed they had found a perfect source for ship masts and yards for the British Royal Navy. araucaria excelsa
The European "chapter" of its story began in , when Captain James Cook sighted Norfolk Island during his second voyage on the HMS Resolution . The story of , widely known today as
