My "fossil tree"

As a gardener and lover of nature and the unique, I have acquired a tree that is really unusual, even rare. It is called a Wollemi Pine Tree. National Geographic calls it a "living fossil," because it has survived for eons, with fossil evidence of its existence from the Jurassic Period. There are only about 100 adult specimens now living, and all are located in a remote canyon in the Wollemi National Park just a short way east of Sydney, Australia. The tree was discovered by a bushwalker in 1994 and kept secret for several years to protect it from exploitation, vandals, collectors and disease damage by other curiosity seekers. It was propagated from seeds and cuttings by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. The National Geographic is now selling two year old babies (pricey, I might add, but returns a royalty to preserve the tree), and getting them dispersed around the world. It is surprisingly hardy, can tolerate sun or shade and a variety of soils. Some of its growth stages are peculiar, and during the cold months develops " polar caps," a white waxy coating on its buds . This protects its growing tips and is thought to have helped it survive many ice ages. In time it develops bark that looks like bubbly chocolate. More information is available on www.nationalgeographic.com/wollemipine. I am going to keep my indoors until summer and then put it on the patio for a year or two before I put it into the landscape. But it is a fascinating project. It even has its own Numbered certificate of authenticity, a ploy I often suspect, but I have to trust NG.