Wollemi Pine Global Metacollection Project

About the project:

The Inala Jurassic Garden (IJG) is one of 35 botanic gardens from around the world (and one of 5 in Australia) that has been chosen as part of the Global Wollemi Pine metacollection Project and is protecting and housing six genetically distinct Wollemi Pine specimens in the IJG living collection. 

Discovered in 1994 by Australian canyoner, explorer, botanist and field officer with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, David Noble, the Wollemi Pine Wollemia nobilis is endemic to an area within UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wollemi National Park, 130km north-west of Sydney, NSW and represented by fewer than 100 mature trees. It is the sole living representatives of one of only three living genera in the Araucariaceae family (alongside Agathis and Araucaria) and is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This species is also considered to be a ‘living fossil’ a relict living population of a fossil species found in Australia and Antarctica that are millions of years old. 

Led by Botanic Gardens of Sydney and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and launched in 2024, the Wollemi Pine Global metacollection is a collaborative initiative distributing genetically diverse, Critically Endangered Wollemi Pines Wollemia nobilis trees to carefully selected, secure botanic gardens worldwide. This strategy protects the "dinosaur tree" from extinction due to bushfires or climate change by establishing resilient, managed populations across suitable global climates, with key sites in the UK, Europe, and the US.  

Purpose: To safeguard the species' genetic diversity, as the wild population is extremely limited and threatened. 

Collaboration: Led by Botanic Gardens of Sydney and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), partnering with institutions like Bedgebury Pinetum, Forestry England for the distribution of UK/European specimens. 

Global Distribution: Two hundred and ten young Wollemi Pine trees, representing the full range of known genetic diversity, were distributed to 35 international locations, including over 170 specimens to 28 botanical gardens across the UK and Europe, 30 specimens to five Australian botanic gardens and 6 specimens to the Atlanta Botanic Garden in the USA. 

Climate Resilience: Locations were selected based on climate modelling to ensure their long-term survival against climate change. 

Research & Monitoring: These curated, ex-situ populations allow for long-term monitoring and research into the species' needs, building on decades of research.  

The IJG is the proud recipient of six of these precious, genetically different specimens, which arrived in July 2023 from Sydney Botanic Gardens where they were propagated. They arrived in a non-soil medium to satisfy quarantine and biosecurity regulations and were repotted into larger containers and held in our shade-house until they acclimatised to the cooler, higher latitude climate of southern Tasmania.    

We are required to submit annual measurements and observations which reflect the health of these specimens to the ABG Metacollection, with the last data being submitted in December 2025. Thus far, all specimens are in excellent condition and actively growing, with one producing three male strobili (cones) for the first time last spring.  

In addition to being part of the Global Wollemi Pine metacollection project, IJG is also growing specimens of this species from seed from other specimens in the IJG living collection. IJG has also become an adoption centre for some of the original Wollemi Pine specimens that were commercially released for public sale in Australia in 2006 to support the conservation of this ancient species, which consists of fewer than 100 individuals in the wild. These specimens were assigned certification numbers and have since grown too big for their owners to manage. 

The Nature Museum adjacent to the IJG at Inala houses several specimens of Agathis jurassica, an extinct member of the Araucariaceae family which is also found in New South Wales and dates to the Jurassic period around 170 million years ago. It is believed to be the ancestor of the Wollemi Pine, to which is very closely resembles. Specimens of the fossil plant and living Wollemi specimens can be directly compared. 

Sincere thanks to:
Damian Wrigley, Manager, Living Collections & Conservation, Botanic Gardens of Sydney for entrusting these precious specimens to IJG and his faith that we could protect and grow them and Maureen Phelan, Horticultural Research Assistant, Germplasm Conservation, Australian PlantBank, Botanic Gardens of Sydney and now ABG Metacollection and Science Technical Officer, Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan for sharing her propagation expertise and for her encouragement and tireless monitoring data collection.