In September 1994, in a deep narrow canyon within the Wollemi National Park, modern day explorer David Noble, an officer with the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, discovered some trees he didn’t quite recognise. What he discovered is now called Wollemia nobilis or the Wollemi Pine.
The last fossil record of the Wollemi Pine is dated at about two million years ago and so the Pine was thought to be extinct. Belonging to the conifer family Araucariaceae, its closest living relatives in this family include the Kauri (Agathis species), Norfolk Island, Hoop, Bunya Bunya and Monkey Puzzle pines (Araucaria species). Morphological, wood anatomy and DNA analysis suggest that the Wollemi Pine is a new genus, falling between the two previously known living genera: Agathis and Araucaria.
Growing to about 40 metres in the wild, their trunks can grow up to one metre in diameter. Like other conifers, it bears cones (both male and female), which appear at the very tip of branches with adult phase leaves. The bark is particularly unusual, looking very much like ‘chocolate crackles’ or bubbling chocolate, making it quite different from the bark of other related species.
|
Female cone of Wollemia Nobilis
|
Male cone of Wollemia Nobilis
|
Since there are so few wild specimens (less than 100), the Wollemi Pine is teetering on the edge of extinction and a number of key stategies have been undertaken to help conserve this rare plant including World Heritage listing of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area of which the Wollemi National Park is a part of. In conservation terms, part of the strategy combines in situ protection of the trees with ex situ cultivation and translocation as a 'back up' for the wild population.
Plants have been available from Botanic Gardens Shops at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan, and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah, on-line or from selected nurseries in Australia since 1 April 2006.
The posted coordinates for this virtual cache will take you to the original plantings of Wollemi Pines within the Gondwana Forest of the Gardens. A more prominent planting of pines up near the visitors centre (coordinates provided) has recently been undertaken for those with accessibility issues, but the original plantings are much more impressive trees and well worth the visit.
UPDATE 2025: Have added coordinates for the Wollombi Wonder viewing platform as an alternate location to view another stand of Wollemia nobilis from an elevated position.
To claim the cache, please take a photo of yourself, or your GPS, or a mascot, with the Wollemi Pine in the background and post it on the cache page with your log. Include in your log details of which stand of pines you visited and if possible provide some details of male/female cones seen and size of trees.
Please note: This Virtual Cache is located within the grounds of the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah and is open every day except Christmas Day. Opening times are Monday to Friday 9:00am-5:30pm, Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays 9:30am-5:30pm.
Branch Out (podcast)
NO PLANTS NO PAST: PROTECTING OUR PREHISTORIC PINE
The Wollemi Pine was thought to be extinct for 60 million years until it was accidentally discovered by David Noble in 1994 during a weekend bushwalk, 150km from Sydney. Our living fossil captures the imagination and attention of the world because it offers a window into the past, but now scientists are focused on protecting its future. Dr Cathy Offord is researching ways to ensure this curious and critically endangered conifer can survive the threat of fire and disease using a range of interesting experiments at the Australian PlantBank. But let's not forget - the Wollemi Pine also has some fascinating survival tricks up its bark, such as the ability to grow up to 150 trunks and self-fertilise!
Listen to the Branch Out podcast about 'Protecting our Prehistoric Pine'
|
Further Reading:
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.