Students have managed to sequence approximately 180,000 nucleotides of the DNA code of the Wollemi Pine’s chloroplast genome. The tree has become known as the dinosaur of the plant kingdom. Originally it was only known in its fossil form – Wollemia nobilis. However in 1994 David Noble discovered a previously unknown rainforest canyon in the Wollemi National Park, Australia, which had examples of the living tree. It is believed that there are less than 100 trees in the wild. These are under protection from extinction.

The Wollemi demonstrates a very low level of genetic diversity. Its chloroplast DNA is unique but there are similarities with a few other pines such as the Monkey Puzzle tree. The Wollemi is as old as the dinosaurs with their origins dating back 200 million years into the middle of the Jurassic period. The oldest known Wollemi fossil is 90 million years old. The largest wild Wollemi Pine in the rainforest gorge is 40m tall with a main trunk of 1.2m wide.