Its spiky cones were a favourite snack for dinosaurs that roamed the Earth more than 200million years ago.
Experts thought it had gone the way of the diplodocus, but now the ‘dinosaur’ tree is very much alive — and bearing fruit in Britain for the first time — after a retired couple planted a rare sapling in their garden.
The Wollemi pine, one of the world’s rarest trees, was believed to have become extinct two million years ago until it was rediscovered by a group of hikers in 1994, 125 miles west of Sydney, Australia.
Saplings and cuttings of the endangered tree were sold off around the world, catching the attention of Pamela and Alistair Thompson.
The couple paid £70 for an 18in sapling, bought initially on the Shopping Channel by a friend.
Now, after 15 years of care, the tree stands more than 13ft tall in their garden in the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire. Retired police officer Mrs Thompson, 75, was stunned to discover the rare tree bearing fruit for the first time ever this month.
She now hopes the evergreen can be propagated to produce seeds that can be used to grow more trees. She said: ‘It would be amazing, absolutely amazing, to have seedlings and to propagate from the world’s rarest tree. I couldn’t imagine being so lucky to do it.
‘I saw a small tree for sale for more than £1,000 which shows just how rare they are.’
Retired couple Pamela and Alistair Thompson, both 75, paid £70 for a Wollemi pine sapling, bought initially on the Shopping Channel by a friend
The tree is one of the rarest in the world and has never borne fruit in the UK until now
Pictured: a bronze statue of a diplodocus outside the Natural History Museum in London. Wollemi pines have been dubbed the 'dinosaur tree' because fossil records show they were living 200 million years ago alongside the dinosaurs
Wollemi pines are related to monkey puzzle trees and bear both male and female fruit.
The grandmother added: ‘The long pendulous fruits are actually the male cone and the globular spiky fruits are the female cones.
‘So what we’re really hoping later in the year would be to collect and germinate some of the seeds. That would be really something but we will just have to wait and see.’
To share the excitement, Mr Thompson, 75, a retired spinal surgeon, will open the couple’s garden to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme on May 4.