Jurassic-age plant to be auctioned

The Wollemi Pine. Picture / Jaime Plaza, Botanic Gardens Trust

The Wollemi Pine, a Jurassic-age plant that was believed extinct until a hiker stumbled across it near Sydney 11 years ago, is being made to pay its way.

To ensure its survival, Australian conservationists have propagated it and plan to auction the next generation at Sotheby's later this month.

The little-known tree is now being touted as the latest must-have garden accessory all over Australia.

The Wollemi was known only from fossil records until David Noble, a park ranger, discovered a small stand of trees in the Blue Mountains, 125 miles west of Sydney, in 1994.

He did not recognise them and took home a branch to show colleagues.

His discovery caused a scientific sensation.

It was dubbed the botanical find of the century.

The species had been thought extinct for at least two million years.

The director of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, Professor Carrick Chambers, said at the time that it was "the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive on Earth".

With just 100 specimens in the wild, the Wollemi is one of the world's oldest and rarest tree species, with origins that date back 200 million years.

Now several hundred saplings, grown from cuttings taken from the original plants, are to be auctioned in an attempt to fund future conservation efforts.

The first generation cultivated trees were unveiled yesterday at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.

Up to six years old and up to 2.5m high, they are being sold with authentication certificates detailing their provenance, as well as care instructions.

In the wild, they grow to up to 40m high, with a trunk diameter of more than one metre.

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 and America." Since they were discovered, the pines have been the focus of extensive research aimed at guaranteeing their survival.

They were found growing in a rainforest gorge surrounded by mountains and undisturbed forest.

Until then, the only known examples were fossils 91 million years old.

Their exact location has been kept secret, in order 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.

The auction is aimed not only at raising funds, but at helping to conserve the ancient species.

Horticulturalists believe that having Wollemi pines in homes, parks and gardens is one of the best forms of insurance against loss in the wild.

Propagated plants are already on display around Australia and at various sites abroad, including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and at Kew, in London.

The pines are expected to fetch from 640 pounds apiece, to 22,000 pounds for a collection of trees.

Next year they will be available as pot plants.

- INDEPENDENT