Wollemi Pine

Suitable for: Early Primary – Primary
Wollemi Pine icon

Wollemi Pine

Tree
Wollemi Pine
Wollemi Pine

A tree straight out of the age of the dinosaurs, thought extinct for millions of years — until living ones were found in a hidden Australian canyon in 1994.

Wollemi pine foliage
Wollemi pine foliage
Wollemi pine cones
Wollemi pine cones

💡 Fun Facts

  • It is a 'dinosaur tree', known only from fossils and thought extinct for millions of years...
  • ...until a hiker found about a hundred of them alive in a hidden Australian canyon in 1994!
  • Its bumpy bark looks a bit like bubbly chocolate cereal.
Name Story

Wollemia nobilis

means “the noble tree of Wollemi”

What does its name mean?
  • Wollemia — of WollemiWollemi National Park, Australia, from an Aboriginal place-name
  • nobilis — noble, remarkable (and a pun on the name Noble)Latin

This 'living fossil' tree was thought to have died out millions of years ago, until a tiny wild grove was found in 1994 in Wollemi National Park, Australia. Its name nobilis means 'noble' or 'remarkable' — and it cleverly honours David Noble, the park ranger who discovered it.

🎴 Field Research Data Cards

Picture
Units

Wollemi Pine

S
Wollemi Pine
PollinationWind (a conifer, with male and female cones on the same tree)
Seed DispersalWind (winged seeds from the female cones)
DefencesBumpy, bubbly bark; a waxy white cap protects the growing bud from frost
Special AbilityA living fossil from an ancient lineage; it sprouts many trunks from its base
Flowering SeasonNon-flowering (a conifer, with cones)
Seeds / YearLow in the wild; now grown in gardens worldwide to spread the extinction risk
Human UsesA conservation flagship, now sold worldwide as a garden tree to help save the species
Record TraitA 'dinosaur tree' known only from fossils until about 100 living trees were found in 1994