Posted on 10/17/2005 1:53:08 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
The Wollemi pine, a Jurassic-age plant believed extinct until a hiker stumbled across a grove near Sydney, Australia, 11 years ago, is being reintroduced to the rest of the world.
To ensure its survival, Australian conservationists have propagated large numbers of the Wollemi and plan to auction the next generation at Sotheby's later this month, with species being touted as the latest must-have garden accessory.
The Wollemi was known only from fossil records until David Noble, a park ranger, found the small stand in the Blue Mountains, 125 mi. (200 km) west of Sydney, in 1994. He did not recognize the trees and took home a branch to show colleagues.
His discovery caused a scientific sensation and is being called the botanical find of the century. The species had been thought extinct for at least 2 million years.
The director of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, Professor Carrick Chambers, said that it was "the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive on Earth."
A Growth Industry
With just 100 specimens in the wild, the Wollemi is one of the world's rarest tree species. It is also one of the oldest, with origins that date back 200 million years. Now several hundred saplings, grown from cuttings taken from the original plants, are to be auctioned to fund future conservation efforts.
The first-generation cultivated trees were presented yesterday at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Up to 6 years old and 8 ft. (2.5 m) high, they are being sold with authentication certificates detailing their provenance, as well as with care instructions. In the wild, the trees grow to up to 131 ft. (40 m) high, with a trunk diameter of more than a meter.
The auction also aims to help conserve the species. Horticulturalists believe that having Wollemi pines in homes, parks, and gardens is one of the best forms ofinsurance Latest News about insurance against loss in the wild.
The chairman of Sotheby's Australia, Justin Millar, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the pines were "among the most exciting things I've ever sold." He said international collectors were likely to join the bidding. "There's been a lot of interest from Germany and the United Kingdom, certainly Japan, America."
Location Closely Guarded
The pines were found growing in a rainforest gorge surrounded by mountains and undisturbed forest. Their exact location has been kept secret, to shield them from thieves and trophy hunters. No roads lead to the area, and even scientists are blindfolded when flown into the site by helicopter.
Propagated plants are already on display around Australia and abroad, including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and at Kew in London. The pines are expected to fetch from $1,120 (U.S.) apiece, to $38,600 for a collection of trees. Next year they are expected to be available widely as potted plants.
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I just hope this thing isn't related in anyway to kudzu.
Ought to make a nice campfire.
Pilmagrages are in the works.
The tree, Albertus gorus, grows to about 6 feet with a thin, narrow form which suddenly spreads wider around 55 years of age, when the crown grows much fatter and the girth expands. The tree is confrontational and often found near moonbats and other odd creatures. It refuses to cede territory to it's rightful owner and will often try to annoy them out of their habitat. It even claims that it invented trees.
That's pretty cool. I'd like to buy one.
Southwest motif, here I come!
This ought to be interesting. At worst quite entertaining.
wait till it turns out to be just like Kudzu
"Two million" years and ZERO changes. Just the latest proof that evolution is a false theory.
lol
It's the raptor trees that are the real problem...
But seriously, are they paying us back for the rabbits?
It's cool about the discovery and all, but I would be a little reluctant to plant a tree that grows over a 130 feet tall in a garden near my house. From what that 40 ft maple did to my sewer system a few years back, I can only imagine how strong the roots would be on one of theses trees!!
Why is it any less dangerous to spread this life-form throughout the globe than it is to spread GMOs throughout the globe? (And, where are the cries of the geemophobes?)
Why? Why "Conserve" if its Natural instinct is making it die out....STUPID environmentalists!
kudzu??
Just the latest proof a creationist will simply fabricate anything he feels like, to argue against evolution.
This story is almost identical to the discovery of Dawn Redwoods living in China during the 1940s.
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