Wollemia

Wollemia is a genus of conifer in the family Araucariaceae, endemic to Australia and represented by a single living species, Wollemia nobilis, the Wollemi pine, which despite its name is not a true pine. It was discovered on September 10, 1994, by David Noble in a remote gorge of Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, identified by its unusual dark, knobbly bark. Genetic testing found fewer than 60 adult trees surviving in the wild across four nearby sites, all genetically identical, evidence of a severe population bottleneck roughly 10,000 to 26,000 years ago; the species is now critically endangered and legally protected, though it has been successfully propagated and distributed to botanical gardens and home gardeners worldwide as part of its conservation.