Presumed extinct - WRONG!

A Wollemi Pine at the U.S. Botanical Garden
in Washington D.C.

The Wollemi Pine is a majestic conifer that grows up to 40 metres high in the wild in a very specific area in Australia, with a trunk diameter of over one meter.The oldest known fossil of a Wollemi Pine  dates back 90 million years, though the Pines may have have been around since the Jurassic period 200 million years ago. It was presumed extinct for around two million years. However in 1994 a few living Wollemi Pines were discovered by a bushwalker in the Wollemi National Park just outside Australia's largest city, Sydney. Dubbed the botanical find of the century, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research. Less than 100 adult trees remain in the wild and only a select few researchers are permitted to see the Wollemi Pine in it natural habitat. However, not to despair! Members of the public can view propagated plants at a number of botanical gardens around the world.