Long before the glow worms took residence in Wollemi National Park, it was home to something a lot more ancient. Alongside the many unique species found in the World Heritage-listed park, is the last of the Wollemi pines, one of the world’s oldest and rarest trees that dates back 91 million years. The trees were thought to be extinct for over 2 million years until a tiny population was discovered by pure happenstance in Wollemi National Park in 1994. Since the discovery, they have been dubbed “dinosaur trees” and living fossils since they flourished in the Triassic period, also known as the age of dinosaurs.
Wollemi Pines
In 1994, hikers stumbled upon a cluster of strange-looking pine trees growing in a canyon in the Wollemi National Park. The concerned authorities were notified of this discovery and upon further inspection, it was determined that the trees belonged to a 200 million-year-old plant family and have remained nearly identical all this time. Only 46 of these adult trees and 43 juveniles remain in the wild, the world’s only natural stand of trees. Although undoubtedly perseverant, the trees exist under serious threat of bushfires and only narrowly escaped the devastating bushfires of 2019-2022.
Today, they are being cloned and grown around the world. As part of rehabilitation efforts, over 170 young trees were supplied by the Botanic Gardens of Sydney across botanic gardens in Europe and one in the US. The trees are also being grown in private gardens and parks since 2005 and you can grow one in your own home too.
The species are known to grow up to 40m in cool climates and have a deep-red bark and lush fern-like foliage.
Where can you see it?
The trees are classified as critically endangered and since this is the last of the wild population of Wollemi pines, the area is not accessible to the public to manage and maintain the delicate ecosystem. The prehistoric trees are located in a secret, undisclosed location within the national park.
However, this remarkable species can now be found in botanic gardens across Australia including the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan, the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in Mount Tomah and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Read more about the Wollemi pine here.