Tree of the Week: May 21st, 2024
ArborNote’s Tree of the Week is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), although it has “pine” in the name, it is not actually related to the pine family. The Wollemi Pine is the last living species of the genus, and was only rediscovered in 1944 in a remote area of Australia after it was thought to be extinct. The bark is very distinctive, dark brown, and knobbly, and resembles the cereal Coco Pops. They are slow-growing, but some are estimated to have lived for 500 – 1,000 years! These trees are critically endangered and legally protected in Australia. After many years of being closely guarded, there is a push from botanists to distribute cuttings of the tree more widely across the world, as there are multiple places that could support a population of Wollemi Pines. This could help keep this amazing species off the endangered list!
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