Dinosaur trees planted on Exmor

‘Dinosaur’ trees planted in North Devon

They were alive 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs were roaming the earth. Now, in a major new global conservation project, six endangered Wollomia pine saplings from Australia have been planted at RHS Rosemoor.

Scientists say there are now fewer than 100 Wollomia trees growing in the wild, so the team at the botanic gardens near Great Torrington in North Devon are helping to save them from extinction. The pines narrowly escaped being wiped out completely by wildfires in 2019-2020, which burnt about 25 million acres of land in eastern Australia.

“The species is now classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature,” said Roz Mitchell from RHS Rosemoor. “The pines we have planted are part of the first global ‘metacollection’ designed to safeguard the species from extinction.”

For the first time, collections of saplings are being made available to botanic gardens across the world. Locations have been chosen with a suitable climate, best suited for the trees to survive the climate changes ahead as part of global efforts to preserve threatened plants.

The tree saplings went through strict quarantine after being imported from Australia, and have now been planted on a woodland bank on the northern border of RHS Rosemoor.

Planting the endagered Wollomia trees