Wollemia nobilis Seeds | Wollemi Pine
LATIN NAME: Wollemia nobilis
COMMON NAME: Wollemi Pine, Wollemi Tree
Plant Profile
The Wollemi pine was known only from fossils until 1994, when a gorge in New South Wales was found to hold about sixty trees. It grows in a single rainforest canyon in Wollemi National Park, northwest of Sydney, on ledges of sandstone where it is shaded for much of the day and watered by mist and seepage. The tree reaches thirty to forty metres in the wild, with a slender trunk covered in bark that looks like bubbly chocolate and a crown of flat, fern-like sprays. Its foliage changes with age: juvenile plants carry soft, narrow leaves, adults carry broader, flattened ones, and the transition can be seen on a single branch. Male and female cones are produced on the same tree, with the female cones near the top of the crown and the male ones below. The species is one of the oldest living lineages of conifer, and its closest relatives are the kauri and the araucarias of the southern hemisphere.
Science & Biotechnology
Wollemia nobilis belongs to the Araucariaceae, a family with a fossil record going back to the Jurassic, and its own lineage appears in rocks from the Cretaceous, which is why it is described as a living fossil. The wild population is genetically almost uniform, suggesting that the stand has been reproducing clonally, from root suckers and fallen stems, for a very long time. The tree has an unusual ability to resprout from buds buried in the bark, and it produces multiple dormant buds, sometimes called polar buds, along the trunk; a damaged tree can throw up new shoots from almost anywhere. It is monoecious, with male cones below the female cones, a layout that reduces self-pollination. Seeds take more than a year to mature and are heavy, falling close to the parent. The wild trees are threatened by Phytophthora cinnamomi, a root pathogen that could be carried in on boots, and access to the site is restricted for that reason.
Uses & Benefits
The Wollemi pine is grown as an ornamental curiosity, in large pots, conservatories and sheltered gardens, and it has been propagated commercially since 2006, when plants were auctioned to fund conservation. It is a specimen tree rather than a crop: slow, architectural, and tolerant of shade when young. Its foliage is used by florists, and the tree has become a symbol of Australian plant conservation. Botanically it is a research subject, since its wood anatomy, resin chemistry and reproductive biology are all unusual and still being studied. In a garden it needs shelter from hard frost and from hot drying wind, and it responds well to a large pot with regular water. The species has no timber or food value and never will, given its rarity. Its greatest use is as an argument for protecting the last patches of unvisited forest.
Growing from Seed
Fresh seed is scarce and expensive, and germination is slow: sow on the surface of a sandy, acidic mix, cover lightly, and keep at 20 to 25 degrees in bright filtered light. Germination can take three months or more, and the seedlings grow slowly for their first two years. Use a deep pot, since the roots are fleshy and dislike disturbance, and repot only when the plant is root-bound. Keep the plant in dappled shade with constant moisture in summer, and reduce water in winter without letting the mix dry out. The tree tolerates light frost, with damage below about minus five, so in cold districts it is best in a conservatory or a sheltered courtyard. Feed lightly with a slow-release fertiliser for acid-loving plants, and avoid lime. Do not overpot: a small plant in a large pot tends to rot.
Our Take
A living fossil that survived in one gorge and now grows in pots. Slow, strange and worth the trouble, if you have the patience.
Related Reading
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