I like fossils. I always have. They’re neat to look at, and there’s something about them that really catches the imagination. There was a place just outside of Fallon, Nevada that was the most amazing store of fossils. A tiny little house, completely converted. Fish, trilobytes, ferns, plants, bugs – you name it, he had it, and in prices from the extremely inexpensive to the cost of my entire academic education to date. I happily spent hours in that store, and got more than one nice Christmas gift for my then-husband, who was an even bigger fossil fan than me.
Needless to say, when I saw the information about the Wollemi pine, I went sort of through the roof with excitement! I’d always thought ginkos were our only true living plant fossil, so the news that there’s another, and that it’s a pine, is really neat. I’d love to have one, but USD100 is a bit steep right now. In the future, though,…
The foliage on the Wollemi pine is very interesting, and doesn’t immediately scream pine/christmas tree to me. It has an almost tropical look to it, which given its age and history, is not that surprising, and the bark looks like boiling caramel.
Can you imagine what else must be out in our forests and hidden areas, just waiting to be discovered? This, more than anything, is such a strong argument for preservation of our natural spaces!