Wollemi pine

9.9

A rare ancient Australian tree discovered in 1994 and once thought extinct

noun

Australian

: pino Wollemi

During our hike in the national park, we were thrilled to see a Wollemi pine standing majestically among other trees.

Examples

Seeds from the Wollemi pine are now available for conservation and research.
The discovery of the Wollemi pine in 1994 amazed the scientific community.
Botanists travel from around the world to study the Wollemi pine in its natural habitat.
The Wollemi pine is an ancient species.
Have you seen a Wollemi pine before?
The conservation program aims to protect the rare Wollemi pine, which was discovered in a hidden valley in Australia.
Scientists were amazed to find living specimens of the Wollemi pine, a species that had been thought to be extinct for millions of years.

How Rare

endangered species

50 3.2

Wollemi pine

Australian

9.9

rare animal

2 6.4

uncommon

122 4.6

common oak

3.5

Surface Forms

Wollemi pine singular

Wollemi pines plural

Morphology

Wollemi + pine

The compound follows a regular place/name + species pattern, so a learner who knows 'Wollemi' as a name and 'pine' as the tree type can infer it denotes a kind of pine from/associated with Wollemi. However, the specific encyclopedic information (that it is a rare, ancient Australian species) is not derivable from the constituents, so the relation is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Wollemi pine gets its name from Wollemi, the park where scientists found the tree in a hidden canyon in 1994. It is called a pine because its leaves look like pine needles, so the name helps you remember it is a very rare, 'ancient' Australian tree.