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May 30, 2009 : Wollemia nobilis
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Plant Family / Families: Araucariaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Wollemia nobilis W.G. Jones et al.
Institution: UBC Botanical Garden
Accession Number: 039420-5712-2009
Name Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Douglas Justice wrote today's entry. I took the photos of the tree, recently planted at the garden's front entrance. The first image shows a side branch photographed to show the new growth. The second shows a small male cone.
Wollemia, previously known from fossils as old as 90 million years and thought to be extinct for at least 2 million years, was discovered alive in a rainforest grove in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia, in 1994, by David Noble, a field officer of the Wollemi National Park. The discovery caused tremendous excitement and fanfare in the scientific community. While we can never be entirely certain of the identification of fossil species, pollen and leaf studies show that Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine) and the fossil Wollemia are close relatives, if not the very same species. Read more about this tree here.
Fewer than 100 mature individuals of Wollemia nobilis exist in the wild—an additional two small groves have been identified since the original discovery—making this one of the rarest and most endangered trees in the world, but conservation work, funded primarily through sales of propagated trees, has helped to ensure the species' survival.
The tree pictured, “Little Billy,” is a first descendant propagation of the “Bill Tree,” the tallest of the Wollemis in the original grove. The species has been through plenty: from dinosaur browsing to multiple ice ages and extended periods of drought. We're confident that with limited winter protection, it should be able to survive here.
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at May 30, 2009 3:42 PM
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Comments
Posted by: Annie Morgan at May 30, 2009 5:20 PM
It will probably survive human kind too...
Posted by: Carolina at May 30, 2009 8:40 PM
I've never heard the "Bill Tree" nickname before. The largest known Wollemi pine is called King Billy (http://www.wollemipine.com/photo_gal.php); I think it might be a reference to a Banjo Paterson verse (http://www.uq.edu.au/~mlwham/banjo/johnsons_antidote.html), since that's the only other place I've heard the name.
Posted by: bill at May 30, 2009 9:49 PM
Loverly, loverly, photograph!!! The first specimen that I saw was in our local [Adelaide, S.A.] Botanic Gardens: it was in an iron cage, now removed, as the tree has grown, and is presumably able to deal with cuttings-hunters! Propagated plants, code-numbered for the original specimens, are available on the market, so that buyers who wish to establish a viable population can buy one of each of the known existing individuals. Three different clone-numbers should give a viable "new-start" population.
Posted by: Don Fenton at May 31, 2009 2:17 AM
bravo to all for helping save
all the little billys
the link pages and photos
are just grand thank you
i realy admire the first
picture on this page
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at May 31, 2009 7:22 AM
I purchase a Wollemia pine a couple years ago from the National Geographic Society's conservation tree sale. The tree looks even more prehistoric in real life then it does in pictures. - Millet
Posted by: Millet at May 31, 2009 3:15 PM
I am so looking forward to getting the money one day to buy one of these for our college grounds. Tregothnan garden are propagating them locally.
Posted by: jan phillips at June 1, 2009 2:48 AM
Hello,
Excellent work!
I was wondering how one could aquire a clipping or purchase a tree?
Posted by: Wesley at June 1, 2009 8:31 AM
Wesley: Wollemia are available for sale at some garden shops; just need to check around. Americans can order online at www.ancientpine.com, but I don't have a Canadian online source right now. Due to quarantine restrictions, all Wollemia for sale in the US and Canada have been grown in their respective countries.
Posted by: James Cowling (UBCBG) at June 1, 2009 8:49 AM
I am SO glad you posted these pictures. I read an extensive article in one of our local newspapers recently about this wonderful find and about "Little Billy" - a treasure those of us who live nearby can now visit. Thank you so much!
Posted by: Julie at June 1, 2009 5:12 PM
I saw one of these indoors at the Missouri Botanical Gardens on a trip there several years ago.
We will, I'm sure, be looking forward to an update around a year from now to see how Little Billy did over the course of a BC winter.
I figure if that works out, I'll give one a try here in Oregon.
Posted by: Denis at June 2, 2009 4:40 PM
They're rated as zone 7 and are surprisingly hardy. One planted outside in Washington D.C. has seen and survived lows of 12 F.
Posted by: Joe at June 2, 2009 4:50 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
What a marvellous discovery! Thank you ever so much for showing us that one.