Building on the smoking link

southern winter when the trees were dormant. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Wollemia nobilis is that, after allozyme, AFLP, and SSP analysis of in excess of 800 loci, not a single polymorphism has been found within or between populations. This extraordinarily low genetic variability appears to be characteristic of Araucariaceae: the other three species in the family have exceptionally low, but still some, genetic variability. The first question that springs to mind is how on earth did they survive so long? And the second is how on earth are we to preserve something potentially so fragile — the accidental introduction of any new disease could kill all known surviving trees — particularly something so rare and fascinating that many who hear about it will want to see it for themselves? The answer to the first question probably lies in the location of the surviving trees: the conditions within their canyon system may have formed a relatively stable micro­ environment that, as climate change forced the trees into ever smaller pockets, became their last stronghold. The answer to the second question is: devise an innovative conservation strategy that involves the very public whose curiosity could threaten the species. As it happens, Wollemia are very easy to grow and tolerate a wide variety of conditions so plants are now being propagated from cuttings and a few seeds that were precariously collected by helicopter. In April 2006, seedlings will be on sale to the public around the world and Wollemia nobilis may soon occupy suburban back gardens and patios around the globe. For now it can be seen in botanical gardens throughout Australia, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in the UK, and it was the star of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. The plants are also on display in the Australian Pavilion, World Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan; the National Museum of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan; Disneyland Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; US Botanic Gardens, Washington DC, USA; and the Vienna Botanic Gardens, Vienna, Austria. Incidentally, wollemi is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘watch out, look around you’ — luckily for us, David Noble did.