When the world found out about the Wollemi Pine – a prehistoric tree growing in a secret location in the depths of NSW’s very own Blue Mountains – everyone was enraptured. Thought to be extinct for the last two million years, 100 of them were found growing in a remote canyon near Sydney in 1994, with their discovery changing botany forever.
A tree species that has survived since the age of dinosaurs is kind of a big deal and, to this day, the existence of this incredibly rare tree is nothing short of a miracle, with this relic of an ancient time currently critically endangered in the wild.
But, when it comes to conserving the Wollemi Pine for future generations, all hope is not lost.
Thanks to new research led by Australian research scientists Dr Heidi Zimmer and Dr Cathy Offord, it has been revealed that home gardeners have actually managed to grow this very special NSW native in unprecedented numbers around the world – spelling good things for the Wollemi Pine’s survival into the future.
Despite beginning its life firmly rooted in the wilds of NSW, research has found that normal people with green thumbs have managed to successfully grow 1510 saplings in 31 countries across five different continents. This home gardening of the Wollemi Pine is the species’ best insurance policy, given that all the wild ones growing in a secret location in NSW are under potential threat from fire and fungus.
The survey found Wollemi Pines growing in people’s gardens in Hawaii, Spain, the UK, the United States, Switzerland and Canada – plus many more far-flung places across the globe.
When it comes to the Wollemi’s preferred climate, it seems that the gnarly native conifer likes things in moderation. Records show that it has flourished best in places like Sydney (duh), where the climate is temperate and the average yearly rainfall is 933mm; the dinosaur trees take off in pots, and when planted in loamy soil (fertile soil of clay and sand).
On this, apparently two-thirds of the pines discovered by the researchers are actually dotted across home gardens in NSW. Once a local, always a local.
Home conservation seems to be the way forward for this very special tree, with scientists hoping that the global diversification of this species will ensure that it will continue to exist on the planet for another few million years.
Time shall only tell.