prehistoric plant

The Wollemi Pine has been brought back from the brink of extinction.

A living, breathing remnant of the dinosaur age, the

Wollemi Pine

has been given a new lease of life thanks to the efforts of a group of passionate plant enthusiasts. Discovered a decade ago in a rainforest gorge 200 kilometers west of Sydney, the

Wollemi Pine

(

Wollemi nobilis

) belongs to the 200 million year old Araucariaceae family and is considered one of the world’s oldest and rarest trees.

Described as an Australian native conifer with dark green foliage, bubbly bark and multiple trunks, the Wollemi Pine – affectionately known as ‘

Pinosaur

’ – and it has been proved to flourish in temperatures ranging from -5 to 45 degrees.

Motivated by the fact there are less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Botanic Gardens Trust (Sydney) has licensed Wollemi Australia to propagate and market the Wollemi Pine, both here in Australia and overseas. It was decided in the Wollemi Pine Recovery Plan that in order to protect the wild population, having Wollemi Pines in gardens, homes, and parks throughout the world is a key conservation strategy.

Considered one of the most dramatic comebacks in natural history, the Wollemi Pine can now be grown in private gardens and public parks.

(By Veda Dante, www.vedadante.com)

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