Which tree, discovered in Australia in 1994, is known as a living fossil?

The Wollemi pine, Wollemia nobilis, was discovered alive in Australia in 1994 and is often called a living fossil.

A New South Wales national parks officer found the trees in a remote canyon in Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains. Before that discovery, the genus was known only from fossils, some dating back roughly 200 million years.

The Wollemi pine is not a true pine in the genus Pinus. It belongs to the araucaria family, Araucariaceae, which also includes other ancient conifers. Its distinctive bubbly bark and unusual foliage helped researchers identify it as a separate species.

Only a small wild population is known, so conservation programs have propagated plants for botanical gardens and the public. This wider cultivation reduces pressure on the secret wild site, whose exact location is protected.