SAVE THEM ALL: Topping our Endangered Species All-Stars list in the plant realm is the Wollemi pine. Long thought extinct, the Wollemi pine—not a true pine but a member of the Araucariaceae family, related to the Monkey Puzzle and Norfolk Island pines—was rediscovered by keen-eyed parks officer David Noble in 1994 in a remote rainforest gorge in the Blue Mountains, only 125 miles from Sydney. Fewer than 100 mature trees exist in the wild.
An evergreen tree with pendulous branches and knobby bark, the Wollemi pine is now listed as critically endangered on the IUCN’s Red List and is the focus of a unique propagation program designed to save the species through commercial and ornamental plantings. If you would like to grow one of these rare, beautiful, and ancient trees, learn more or order a seedling at the Wollemi Pine North America website. We also recommend a wonderful book, The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil from the Age of the Dinosaurs, by James Woodford.
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