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Fast Facts
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| Claim to fame |
One of the world's oldest and rarest trees |
| Scientific name |
Wollemia nobilis |
| Family |
Araucariaceae |
| Relatives |
Kauri, Norfolk Island, Hoop, Bunya and Monkey Puzzle pines |
| When discovered |
1994 |
| Where discovered |
200km west of Sydney in a rainforest gorge within the 500,000 hectare
Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains |
| Discovered by |
David Noble, a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Officer and avid bushwalker |
| Age |
The Wollemi Pine belongs to the 200 million year old Araucariaceae
family |
| Oldest known fossil |
90 million years |
| Wild population |
Less than 100 mature trees |
| Characteristics |
Conifer with attractive, unusual dark green foliage, bubbly bark and
sprouts multiple trunks |
| Growth habit |
Fast growing in light, favours acid soils, and temperatures from - 5 to 45°C (23 to 113°F). Trials in the USA and Japan have indicated
that it will survive temperatures as cold as -12°C (10.4 °F).
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| Size |
The largest wild Wollemi Pine in the rainforest gorge is 40m tall with
a main trunk of 63cm in width |
| Release date |
2006 (check here for more details) |
| Conservation |
Royalties from sales of the Wollemi Pine to support conservation
of the Wollemi Pine and other rare and endangered plant species |
| Best use |
Unique gift for special occasions (birthday, wedding, christening), a stunning
patio and indoor plant (in well lit positions) and feature tree for parks and large
gardens |
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Did you know?
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Fossil evidence of the Wollemi Pine, or at least its ancestors, goes back to the mid-Cretaceous,
and possibly even the early Cretaceous period some 110 million years ago.
There are also fossil records of dinosaurs in Australia at that time before they became extinct globally around 65 million years ago.
Paleontologists say that it is likely that dinosaurs crossed paths with the Wollemi Pine and may have eaten Wollemi leaves.
Read the full story
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"This is a great way to preserve the tree by getting people all around the globe to help."
Home Gardener, Malta
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