Common name: Wollemi Pine
Wollemia nobilis W.G.Jones, K.D.Hill & J.M.Allen APNI*
Description: Trees to 40 m high; trunk to 1 m diam.; bark densely covered with dark brown nodules or tubercles.
Leaves on leading shoots, arranged in 5–8 spiral rows, narrow-triangular, 3–10 mm long, keeled, acute, pungent; leaves on juvenile lateral shoots (growing horizontally away from the leading shoots) spirally distichous, linear to narrow-triangular, leathery, rounded or obtuse, upper surface deep green, lower surface glaucous, 2–8 cm long, 2–5 mm wide; leaves on adult lateral shoots arranged in 4 regular vertical rows, narrow-oblong, leathery, rounded, dull pale to mid-green, 1–4 cm long, 4–8 mm wide.
Male cones to10.9 cm long, 19 mm diam. Female cones 5–8 cm long diam.
Seeds pale brown, 4–6 mm wide including the wing.
Distribution and occurrence: Gorge in a remote part of the Wollemi N.P. Plants emergent above warm-temperate coachwood-sassafras rainforest, in a deep sheltered gorge.
NSW subdivisions: CT
Threatened species: NSW BCA: Critically Endangered; Commonwealth EPBC: Critically Endangered
One of the world's rarest trees, with about 40 adult trees known occurring in 2 small sites; discovered in 1994, despite occurring within 150 km of the Sydney metropolitan area.
Text by G. J. Harden Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 1 Suppl. (1999)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data ***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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