Fungal threat: Secret Wollemi pine population offers hope for species' survival

By Marcus Strom
Updated August 30 2016 - 1:46pm, first published August 26 2016 - 6:56pm
Dr Heidi Zimmer at a secret grove of replanted Wollemi pines in the Blue Mountains. Photo: Nick Moir
Dr Heidi Zimmer at a secret grove of replanted Wollemi pines in the Blue Mountains. Photo: Nick Moir
Dr Heidi Zimmer (left) with Dr Cathy Offord take the Fairfax team into the secret Wollemi pine site. Photo: Nick Moir
Dr Heidi Zimmer (left) with Dr Cathy Offord take the Fairfax team into the secret Wollemi pine site. Photo: Nick Moir
Dr Cathy Offord in 1994 at the site of the then-recently discovered Wollemi pine in the Blue Mountains. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens
Dr Cathy Offord in 1994 at the site of the then-recently discovered Wollemi pine in the Blue Mountains. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens
The root and trunk structure of the Wollemi pine. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens
The root and trunk structure of the Wollemi pine. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens
An aerial view of the original site of Wollemi pines showing mature trees up to 40 metres tall. Photo: Jaime Plaza/Botanic Gardens Trust
An aerial view of the original site of Wollemi pines showing mature trees up to 40 metres tall. Photo: Jaime Plaza/Botanic Gardens Trust
Ken Hill, a senior botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1994 with a 150-million-year-old Jurassic fossil of podozamites, the ancestor of the Wollemi pine. Photo: Peter Rae
Ken Hill, a senior botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1994 with a 150-million-year-old Jurassic fossil of podozamites, the ancestor of the Wollemi pine. Photo: Peter Rae

It was the botanical equivalent of finding dinosaurs alive – but now the Wollemi pine faces a new threat to its fragile existence.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Queanbeyan news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.