This article focuses on the ancient wollemi pines, a rare tree from the Cretaceous Period. The wollemi pine was described and given its official name, Wollemia nobilis, in a short article published in a 1995 volume of Telopen, the botanical journal of the National Herbarium of New South Wales. The species epithet is indicative of the noble stature of the tree and the name of its discoverer, David Noble. The genus name is derived from its place of discovery. Much research has focused on the conservation status and ecology of the wollemi pine. Only three small copses are currently known, and these all occur within neighboring, shaded, permanently moist pockets of rainforest. Some investigators have focused on the biochemistry of the wollemi pine and associated organisms within its ecosystem. One such study revealed that a so-called endophytic fungus, which grows inside the plant itself, produces the chemical taxol--an important cancer-fighting agent. Such discoveries raise the hope that Wollemia will have other pharmaceutical or industrial uses.
