The Wollemi Pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest plants dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. With less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival. |
Assist in the Conservation EffortYou can now assist in the conservation effort by growing your own Wollemi Pine and becoming part of one of the most dramatic comebacks in natural history. Order Your Trees NowThe waiting is over - Wollemi Pines are now available for immediate despatch to the UK and Ireland!!!
What a wonderful gardening gift at half the RRP.
Each Wollemi Pine will come with an information booklet, care label, sachet of mycorrhizal "friendly" fungi to help the growth of your Pine and also a certificate of authenticity to prove that you have purchased a piece of genuine Jurassic history. Each pine is potted into a coloured pot with a printed Wollemi Pine logo and has been grown on to approx 50 cm tall.
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Fast Facts about the Wollemi Pine.
| 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 -5-45°C | | Size | The largest wild Wollemi Pine in the rainforest gorge is 40m tall with a main trunk of 1.2m wide | | Retail Launch Date | May 2007 | | 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, a stunning patio and indoor plant and feature tree for parks and large gardens 
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Interesting Features
Foliage
The Wollemi Pine produces three types of foliage depending on its age and position on the tree.
New juvenile frond-like foliage is apple green and changes to a blue-green colour as the plant grows.
Mature foliage is more Jurassic-like, featuring two rows of leaves on the branches, not unlike the spines on a Stegosaur's back.
In the colder months, the foliage has a warm, bronze appearance.
Each growth season, the branch buds flush, creating distinct sections on the branches from which the age of the Wollemi can be estimated.
Cones
The Wollemi Pine is bisexual (monoecious) and produces small male and female cones on the same tree. The cones appear on the tips of separate branches from approximately 9 years of age. The seeds are produced by the round female cones and the long male cones produce the pollen.
Bark and Coppicing
Unique, chocolate brown bubbly bark will form as the plant matures, from approximately 6 years of age.
Coppicing
The Wollemi Pine has a habit of developing multiple stems, called 'coppicing', which may have evolved as a defence against drought, fire or rock fall in the steep canyons where it grows in the wild, thereby ensuring its survival. This means that the Wollemi Pine will be naturally multi-stemmed giving it an attractive bushy form compared to its single-stemmed conifer relatives. However, it is possible to prune/train the Wollemi Pine as a single stemmed street tree.
Polar Cap
During the colder months, the Wollemi Pine becomes dormant and its growing buds develop an attractive white waxy coating with ruby pink lines. This protects its growing tips and is thought to have helped it survive many ice ages. When spring arrives, the caps disappear and the new growth bursts through. It is not uncommon for new buds (from one to multiple) to grow from beneath or through the polar cap.
