Wollemia W.G. Jones, K.D. Hill & J.M. Allen

Sponsor this page

For information about how you could sponsor this page, see How You Can Help

Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Wollemia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/wollemia/). Accessed 2024-04-24.

Family

Araucariaceae

Species in genus

Wollemia nobilis

Glossary

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Wollemia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/wollemia/). Accessed 2024-04-24.

Protected by a cage, the first Wollemia planted outside at Kew has so far done extremely well. Image T. Kirkham.

The discovery of the genus Wollemia, comprising the single species W. nobilis, in a gorge not far west of Sydney, Australia, is the most remarkable and exciting botanical story of recent times. The similarity between extant and fossilised leaves of Wollemia has earned it the status of a living fossil – but it also qualifies as a ‘new tree’!

Wollemia is proving to be much hardier than expected, perhaps partly due to the fact that it undergoes proper winter dormancy, with the apical bud protected under a resinous secretion often referred to as the 'polar cap'. Image T. Kirkham.

David Noble, pictured here with the first specimen of Wollemia nobilis to be planted outside at Kew. The epithet nobilis is a nice pun, conveying ‘noble’ in the dictionary sense, but with obvious reference also to the discoverer of this remarkable tree. Image T. Kirkham.

Contact the editors at