“It was in 1994 when I first saw the pines.
I was exploring a canyon along a creek with two friends of mine, Tony and Michael, where we had rappelled down.
I remember being intrigued to know what species of strange-looking tree it was that was up ahead.”
With this simple beginning, Australian forester David Noble was about to make one of the most important botanical discoveries of the last century.
Then, the Wollemi pine (
Wollemia nobilis
) rose to fame as a new species within the araucaria family (
Araucariaceae
), cone-bearing plants, like pines (
Pinus
spp.).
A new living fossil had just been found, since its morphological features relate it to fossil records preserved millions of years ago.
In honor of David Noble the species epithet,
nobilis
, was dedicated to him .
Passionate about canyoning, this botanist continues telling EL PAÍS that day in the Wollemi National Park, in the Blue Mountains region.
“It was wet and cool in the shadow of the canyon.
Under the pine trees there wasn't much undergrowth and it was quite open so we sat under these strange trees for lunch.
I remember commenting that they looked peculiar, but the conversation turned to how we would get out of the canyon and back before nightfall.”
So they abandoned the stand of less than a hundred specimens of this strange conifer.
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“I picked a small leaf from one of the trees, and I took it to naturalist Wyn Jones, who was working for the National Park Service at the time.
Being a busy man, he brushed her aside and said that he would get back to me.
A few days later he asked me if the leaf was from a bush, but when I told him it was from a big tree his interest grew and he insisted that I take him to see it”.
David Noble had to wait a few more weeks for what he already suspected to be confirmed: “More than a month passed before they realized that the tree was something extraordinary and unknown.
It was amazing that something so big had gone unnoticed for so long, and only a couple of hours from Sydney.
The fact that the trees have survived for so long and have stayed alive in a small remote canyon, protected from fire and drought, is fascinating."
David Noble in June 2021 at Anvil Rock in the Blue Mountains, surrounded by 'Actinotus helianthi' flowers.Ingvar Kenne - www.ingvarkenne.com
Ask.
When did she decide to choose a job like hers, taking care of the forests?
Response.
When I was in high school I decided that I wanted to work with the environment.
So I studied Biology, Geography and Chemistry, which later helped me with my university degree in Environmental Control and Park Management.
In college I studied Botany and Photography, and became interested in identifying the plants around me.
Q.
What is a day like at your job?
A.
I work as a ranger for the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales, Australia.
Every day is different, and can include firefighting in the summer, searching for lost tourists, planning new visitor facilities, or sitting in front of the computer writing reports.
Q.
You are also an explorer.
He looks like one of those botanists who can travel thousands of miles to see a tiny flower in the middle of nowhere.
A.
Yes, but I didn't have to travel very far.
The Wollemi Pine was hidden in a canyon west of Sydney.
P.
_
What did he feel at the moment that it was finally known that he was a new species?
R.
Astonishment, it was unexpected.
Find a tree so big, so close, but still unknown.
I was privileged to have been able to find the Wollemi Pine.
He did not expect that it would be possible to discover a new species in 1994.
Female cones of 'Wollemia nobilis'Rosie Nicolai/DPE
Q.
Do you often return to where the Wollemi Pine grows?
Can you describe what it is like?
A.
No one is allowed to return.
The place is kept in quarantine to protect the plants from diseases.
The last time I saw Wollemi Pines was in 1995. They grow deep in a canyon, in a wild environment.
There are no houses, roads or trails nearby to walk on.
An untouched and untouched place whose location is kept secret.
Although the Blue Mountains are not tall, they are certainly very complex.
The vegetation can also be very thick and slow the progress of walkers.
Q.
Apart from the diseases you mention, are there any other dangers that could affect the population of
Wollemia
?
A.
The Wollemi Pines will be safe as long as humanity does not interfere.
The fires of 2019 and 2020 were so devastating that there was a sense of despair.
She knew the pine trees would be fine, as they had burned before and regenerated.
But climate change is the main issue that needs to be addressed soon.
Wollemi pines in the Australian canyon where they grow. Jaime Plaza / Botanic Gardens Trust
P.
_
Do you take care of a garden?
A.
I live on a 40-hectare property and have my own orchard and fruit trees.
I grow avocados, apples, stone fruit trees and many varieties of citrus.
Q.
Since its discovery, the Wollemi Pine has been cultivated extensively and successfully.
Have you planted any?
A.
Yes, I have been invited to plant Wollemi Pines at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in England, and in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
I like to think that my find made people realize that there are still discoveries to be made in remote wilderness areas.
Now that the species has spread throughout the world, in botanical gardens and in people's own gardens, the Wollemi pine will survive long into the future, and people will be able to see them mature and change.