Trees: Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) Worlds Rarest Tree.

Wollemia nobilis, Australia’s Phoenix trees, the worlds rarest tree found in Australia 20 years ago. The Wollemi pine is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN’s Red List, and is legally protected in Australia. Discovered by David Noble, a field officer of the Wollemi National Park in Blackheath, in the Blue Mountains, Australia. A Recovery Plan has been drawn up, outlining strategies for the management of this fragile population; the overall objective is to ensure that this species remains viable in the long-term. In both botanical and popular literature the tree has been almost universally referred to as the Wollemi pine, although it is not a true pine (genus Pinus) nor a member of the pine family (Pinaceae), but rather is related to Agathis and Araucaria in the family Araucariaceae. The oldest fossil of the Wollemi tree has been dated to 200 million years ago. University of Melbourne. / visions #trees #conifertrees #treeid #TreeNews #LondonTrees