Copyright 2000 Reuters
December 15, 2000
By Paul Tait

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Australia has a new addition to its unique list of flora and fauna after the discovery of a species of tree described as a living fossil dating back at least 90 million years, botanists said Friday.

The tree, which grows to above 130 feet tall, has been christened unofficially the Nightcap Oak after its discovery in the Nightcap Range rainforest near Byron Bay, 400 miles north of Sydney.

The tree's history spans more than 90 million years, back to when Australia was part of the Gondwanaland super-continent linked to what is now Antarctica, New Zealand and South America, said Dr Peter Weston of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.

``It's a very, very old lineage indeed,'' Weston told Reuters.

Weston identified the new tree after a stand of about 20 mature trees was discovered by botanist Robert Kooyman in August.

Weston said it was remarkable that such a unique tree could have gone unnoticed in a rainforest which has been well researched and documented by botanists.

``I was really amazed...this rainforest has been scoured to within an inch of its life by some very good botanists,'' he said.

He said the tree belonged to the Proteaceae family, of which native Australian banksias, waratahs, macadamias and grevilleas and South Africa's proteas are members.

Weston said the tree was a ``relatively non-descript'' rainforest tree with dark green leaves, nuts about the same size as macadamias -- a delicacy in Australia -- and small white flowers in dense clumps.

Kooyman said the flowers smelled faintly of sweet aniseed.

One of the larger trees in the Nightcap Range had a circumference of more than 29 inches.

The exact location of the Nightcap trees is being kept a closely guarded secret so the trees can be protected.

The New South Wales state government said it was considering a request to grant the tree emergency protection under the state's legislation covering threatened species.

Cuttings from the trees have been taken and are being cultivated at Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.

Botanists were excited in 1994 by the discovery of Australian flora's first ``living fossil,'' the Wollemi Pine which dates back 150 million years.

Weston said it was likely Australia, known for its unique wildlife which includes kangaroos and koala bears, probably still contained many species of undiscovered fauna.

``That something that big can escape detection until now...what small, interesting plants are there now that we know nothing about?,'' he said. Error: Unable to read footer file.