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NatureSurprise 5/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on October 17, 2026

The Wollemi pine was known only from fossils until it was found alive in Australia in 1994.

Why it is true

A park ranger found it in a remote gorge near Sydney. Fewer than a hundred adult trees remain in the wild, at a location kept secret. During the huge fires of 2019 and 2020, firefighters set up sprinklers to save them, and succeeded.

Source: Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

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