Interesting Features

Foliage

The Wollemi Pine produces three main types of foliage depending on its age and position on the tree. New Juvenile frond-like foliage is apple-green and changes to a blue-green colour as the plant grows. Mature foliage is much more Jurassic like, featuring two rows of leaves on the branches, not unlike the spines on a Stegosaur’s back. In the colder months the foliage has a warm, bronze appearance.

Cones

Male and female cones are produced by the same tree on the tips of separate branches. Although Wollemi Pines have been seen to develop both cones when approximately 9 years old, it is generally assumed that they only become sexually mature between 12 and 15 years of age.

Coppicing

The Wollemi Pine has a habit of developing multiple stems, called ‘coppicing’, which may have evolved as a defence against drought, fire or rock fall in the steep canyons where it grows in the wild, thereby ensuring its survival. This means the Wollemi Pine will be naturally multi-stemmed giving it an attractive bushy form compared to its single stemmed conifer relatives.

Bubbling Bark

At around 5 years of age, Wollemi Pines develop tiny bubbles on their lower stems. As the trees mature, this becomes more like bubbling chocolate on their trunks.

Polar caps

During the colder months the Wollemi Pine becomes dormant and its growing buds develop attractive white waxy coating with ruby pink lines. This protects its growing tips and is thought to have helped it survive many ice ages. When spring arrives the caps disappear and the new growth bursts through and gives the effect of emerging Rose Buds.