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wollemi pine
Feb 12, 2006

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The plants themselves will be available in late March-early April 2006. The vouchers are $55.00 (150 mm plant) and $95.00 (200 mm plant). The plants themselves will be available in late March-early April 2006. The vouchers are $55.00 (150 mm plant) and $95.00 (200 mm plant). 
http://www.care2.com/news/member/329809086/40326

The Wollemi Pine will be available for sale in 2006. This date has been set to allow sufficient time for horticulturalists and scientists to research and cultivate the plant so as to secure the ongoing survival of this rare species.
http://www.wollemipine.com/

                           

Wollemia

Wollemia nobilis is a remarkable coniferous tree that was discovered in 1994 in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges in a mild temperate-zone rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, 150 km north-west of the Australian city of Sydney.

In popular literature, the tree has been named "Wollemi Pine", though this is a misnomer, as it is not a pine.

Wollemia is an evergreen tree reaching 25-40 m tall. The bark is very distinctive, dark brown and knobbly, quoted as resembling chocolate-coated Rice Krispies. The tree coppices readily, and most specimens comprise multi-trunk clumps of trunks thought to derive from old coppice growth. The branching is unique in that nearly all of the side branches never have further branching; after a few years, each branch either terminates in a cone (either male or female) or ceases growth; after this or the cone is mature, the branch dies. New branches then arise from dormant buds on the main trunk. Rarely, a side branch will turn erect and develop into a secondary trunk, this then bears a new set of side branches.

The leaves are flat linear, 3-8 cm long and 2-5 mm broad; they are arranged spirally on the shoot but twisted at the base to appear in two or four flattened ranks. The seed cones are green, 6-12 cm long and 5-10 cm in diameter, and mature in about 18-20 months after pollination; they disintegrate at maturity to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are slender conic, 5-11 cm long and 1-2 cm broad.

Discovery

The discovery, by David Noble, a field officer of the Wollemi National Park in Wentworth Falls, in the Blue Mountains, only occurred because of his adventurous bushwalking and rock climbing abilities. Luckily, he had good botanical knowledge and quickly recognised the trees as unusual and worthy of further investigation. Noble returned with specimens that he expected someone would be able to identify. However, it was soon found to be new to science. Further study would be needed to establish its relationship to other conifers. All that was at first suspected by the botanists was that it had certain characteristics of the 200-million-year-old family Araucariaceae, but was not the same as any living species in the family. For this reason the species is described as a living fossil.

Comparison with living and fossilised Araucariaceae proved that it was a member of that family, and it was placed into a new genus with the other extant genera Agathis and Araucaria. Fossils resembling Wollemia and possibly related to it are widespread in Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica, but Wollemia nobilis is the sole living member of its genus.

Fewer than a hundred trees are known to be growing wild, in three localities not far apart. Genetic testing has revealed that all the specimens are genetically indistinguishable, suggesting that the species has been through a genetic bottleneck in which its population became so low (possibly just one or two individuals) that all genetic variability was lost.

In November 2005, wild-growing trees were found to be infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi. New South Wales park rangers believe the virulent fungus was introduced by unauthorised visitors to the site, whose location is still undisclosed to the public.


Cultivation and uses

A propagation programme is underway with the first commercial release of this plant worldwide scheduled for 2006, with sales in Australia and elsewhere. It may prove to be a valuable tree for ornament, either planted in open ground or for tubs and planters. It is also proving to be more adaptable and cold-hardy than its restricted subtropical distribution would suggest, tolerating temperatures down to -5°C, with one unverified report of a young plant surviving a temperature of -12°C. Like many other Australian trees, Wollemia is susceptible to the pathogenic fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi, so this may limit its potential as a timber tree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollemi_Pine



Wollemi Pine Gift Certificates

  • The perfect conservation Christmas gift.
  • Wollemi Pines are easy to grow and maintain.
  • Ideal as a feature tree or patio/indoor plant.

Every Wollemi Pine comes with:

  • Certificate of authenticity
  • Bio-degradable pot
  • Care booklet
  • Decorative sleeve
First release in April 2006

Order your Wollemi Pine from the Gardens Shops at

  • Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, Ph: 4567 3010
  • Royal Botanic Gardens Ph: 9231 8125
  • Mount Annan Botanic Garden Ph: 4634 7935
40 cm Wollemi Pine in 15 cm pot $54.95.
60 cm Wollemi Pine in 20 cm pot $94.95.

Proceeds from the sale helps the Botanic Gardens Trust in its continued work with the conservation of this rare tree and other plants in the wild.

http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au		 
Wollemi Pine pot

Wollemi Pines




More links:
Rare tree makes roots at castle
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/4359484.stm
Tree with Jurassic roots unveiled
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4531805.stm
Jurassic pot plants on sale soon
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3139450.stm
Why are there so few conifer species?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/227index.shtml
Kew: A year at Kew: Plants: Wollemi Pine
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/plants/wollemipine.html
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Posted: Sunday February 12, 2006, 2:30 pm
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Anita Z. (2) 		Monday February 13, 2006, 3:32 am
Thank you for this information Lydia een gezellige dag Anita

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