THE Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is a distinctive non-flowering tree or conifer, and is one of the relatively few conifers of the southern hemisphere. In nature, this pine grows to a height of 60 metres (200 feet), with a straight vertical trunk sometimes reaching 3 metres (10 feet) in width, and with symmetrical branches.
This tree is native to a small speck of land of the same name in the middle of the South Pacific, about 900 miles due east of the eastern bulge of Australia.
Besides its native Norfolk Island,  it is widely planted in Australia, New Zealand, southern Florida, coastal California, south Texas, Hawaii, coastal Chile and other parts of South America, Honduras, and South Africa.
In these countries, as well as in Guyana, the distinctive appearance of the Norfolk  Island Pine, with its widely-spaced branches and symmetrical, triangular outline, has made it a popular cultivated species, either as a single tree or  as a  natural Christmas tree.
Even though it is a forest giant of the South Pacific, the Norfolk Island Pine can be grown as a small table-top plant for even persons living in apartments, the size of the pot in which it is planted being a determinant factor in the size it attains.
Smaller pots keep the size down.
According to an official of the Horticultural Society of Guyana (HSG), plants grown in 6-inch pots will usually get to about 2 feet tall, and then stop growing.
If transplanted to an 8-inch pot, they will grow another foot and stop again.
As a landscape tree, the Norfolk Island Pine grows ramrod straight, with whorled branches arising at right angles to the main trunk. These swoop down in a graceful arc, thus attaining a perfectly symmetrical and picturesque form.
The first European known to have sighted Norfolk Island, and thus the Norfolk Island pine, was Captain James Cook in 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific on the HMS Resolution.
He named the island after the Duchess of Norfolk, wife of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (1685–1777).
Cook landed on Norfolk Island, and reported on the presence of large quantities of tall, straight trees which appeared to be suitable for use as masts and yards for sailing ships.
However, when the island was occupied in 1788 by transported convicts from Britain, it was found that the Nofolk Island Pine was, in fact, not resilient enough for these uses, and the industry was abandoned.
In many countries of the world, Guyana included, Christmas is generally the time of year for  the Norfolk Island Pine to shine both indoors and outdoors.
If it is indoors, it is usually set out in a prominent spot, and decorated  with small, lightweight ornaments, bows or garlands.
However, indoors or outdoors, it should not be bedecked with fairly lights, since the heat  from the bulbs can dry out the  foliage.
Locally, members of the HSG say that the Norfolk Island Pine, that South Pacific giant living in Guyana, is relatively easy to care for, and can provide attractive indoor greenery as well as serve as a  living Christmas Tree for years.