Living fossil' tree from 66 million years ago being planted in secret locations

 Thirty years ago, in 1994, a species of pine tree that thrived in the Cretaceous period, some 145 to 66 MILLION years ago, was re-discovered alive and growing (in a limited capacity) in Australia. Since then, scientists have planted them to try and repopulate them. This is similar to the prehistoric fish (Silurian Period, 420 million years ago)  known as the Coelacanth,  found still living in the Indian Ocean in the 1990s! That species was thought to have been long extinct, too.  Today's blog is about the amazing story of the prehistoric pine species. from Livescience. 

Wollemi pines were rediscovered in Australia 2 million years after they were thought to have gone extinct. (Image credit: Ken Griffiths

'Living fossil' tree frozen in time for 66 million years being planted in secret locations 

 By Richard Pallardy, Feb 28, 2024 LIVESCIENCE

Wollemi pines — thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago — were rediscovered in 1994. Scientists are now hoping to reintroduce the species in the wild in a conservation effort that could take centuries.

Scientists are planting "living fossil" trees in secret locations in a bid to bring back the lost species from the brink of extinction — an effort that could take centuries.

Wollemi pines (Wollemia nobilis) were believed to have disappeared some 2 million years ago. Fossils of the species dating the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago) show they have barely changed in appearance since this time.

But in 1994, hikers in Australia's Blue Mountains stumbled upon a relict stand of these ancient conifers. Now, only around 60 of them remain in Wollemi National Park. They are threatened by Phytophthora cinnamomi, a pathogenic water mold that causes dieback, and by rampant wildfires that intermittently rage through this region of New South Wales.

Since its rediscovery, wollemi pines have been grown in botanical gardens and private spaces around the world. And the Wollemi Pine Recovery Team, a partnership between Australian government scientists and conservationists, has begun the process of reintroducing seedlings to three sites in Wollemi National Park.

"The sites comprise high-elevation sandstone gorges that are sufficiently deep, narrow and steep-sided to provide refugia from frequent, intense wildfires and drought," representatives said in a statement emailed to Live Science. "There was no evidence of infection with pathogenic Phytophthora species at either site when surveyed immediately prior to the translocations, and there is a low (but non-zero) likelihood of unauthorized visitation due to their remoteness."

Following a pilot transplantation effort in 2012, the recovery team initiated a more intensive project in 2019. Over 400 saplings were transplanted at two sites.

The young trees grow less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) a year, so it will take decades for them to reach maturity and produce seeds.  Given the slow growth and maturation of Wollemi pines in the wild, this is likely to take many decades, if not centuries.