Wollemia nobilis: a living fossil

As a tree considered a living fossil, it is very possible that you know the Ginkgo biloba, but, although it appeared on Earth well before the dinosaurs, today's protagonist is likely to top the list of these magnificent and resistant species. Its scientific name is wollemia nobilis, and a fossil was found whose age was close to 200 million years.

The species was discovered in 1994, in the Wollemi Park (hence its name) in Australia. It is popularly known as "Wollemi pine", but in reality it is not a pine, rather it is more related to the Araucaria family, that is, to the Araucariaceae (the pines belong to the family Pinaceae). 

La wollemia nobilis It grows to a height of approximately 40 meters, with a trunk thickness of up to 2 meters. Its growth is slow, as is the maturation of the cone, which will be ready after 18 months from its pollination.

It is a vigorous plant that lives in the high mountains, where the four seasons are well defined, with frosts, but the summer is mild, and the winter is cool. The ambient humidity is also high.

In habitat there are about 100 specimens, that is why it is very difficult to find it for sale, and when it is, its price is very high. It is an endangered species, and that is why it is very important that, if we want and can have one in our garden, we have gone through CITES before, which is a regulator of threatened species, and they will be the ones who will decide whether or not they give us permission to have it.

La wollemia nobilis It is a spectacular conifer that, like all plants, but perhaps more so due to its long existence on the planet, deserves our most sincere respect and admiration. It would be a real shame if it were added to the list of extinct plant species, don't you think?