Steve Dongles Top 100 Trees: - No 4 The Wollemi Pine

Wollemia nobilis from Mrs Dongle's rare and exotics collection. Courtesy of Drs: Nina Rogers and Chrissy Roberts

Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Wollemia was only known through fossil records until the Australian species Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges 150 km north-west of Sydney. The genus is named for the National Park
In both botanical and popular literature the tree has been almost universally referred to as the Wollemi pine, although it is not a true pine (genus Pinus) nor a member of the pine family (Pinaceae), but rather is related to Agathis and Araucaria in the family Araucariaceae. The oldest fossil of the Wollemi tree has been dated to 200 million years ago.
The Wollemi pine is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN's Red List, and is legally protected in Australia. A Recovery Plan has been drawn up, outlining strategies for the management of this fragile population; the overall objective is to ensure that this species remains viable in the long-term. - Credit: Wikipedia

"The discovery of the Wollemi Pine is the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive on earth".  Professor Carrick Chambers

So Mrs Dongle wont be using this little beauty for firing up the woodburning stove!

"They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum and they charged all the people a dollar and a half to see 'em. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"
Joni Mitchell.

"Every one of us in our daily lives affect our fragile ecosystems. Every stem you break, every cone you take, every pine you shake - I'll be watching you!" Steve Dongle; Eco-warrior, environmental activist and compiler of the Waveney Gazette's Top 100 Trees.