Some of you might remember posts about the monkey puzzle tree that lives about a block from us. Check out posts here and here. It's a very unusual tree and anyone who walks downtown with me ALWAYS gets introduced to the tree. I found a broken branch of its unusual leaves, brought it home, and put it by the front door. Almost everyone who comes to our place gets introduced to this distinct tree.
Recently I was reading an article in Smithsonian magazine and saw a picture of the extremely rare Wollemi pine tree which was thought to be extinct. It was discovered in the 1990s in the Blue Mountains of Australia. Prior to this it was known only through fossils. The leaves and cones looked very similar to the monkey puzzle tree. So I turned to the Internet and searched for "monkey puzzle tree and Wollemi pine." Through the wonders of technology I quickly discovered that they, indeed, are related. Check out the information here.
The theory is that the trees started out together when the earth's landmasses were joined. Then the continents drifted apart. The Wollemi pine ended up in Australia. The Monkey Puzzle Tree and the land mass it was on became South America.
More about Wollemi pine here
More about Monkey puzzle tree here
Photos - that's the monkey puzzle tree on the left (the one that lives near us) & the Wollemi pine on the right (from Wikipedia)
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