AND OAK OLDER THAN IMAGINABLE.

Forget that reality-based TV stuff. Australia has a real "survivor": A tree species that dates back 90 million years.

Dubbed the Nightcap Oak after its discovery in the Nightcap Range rainforest 400 miles north of Sydney, the "relatively nondescript non·de·script
adj.
Lacking distinctive qualities; having no individual character or form: "This expression gave temporary meaning to a set of features otherwise nondescript" " tree dates back to the days when Australia was part of a super-continent linked to what is now Antarctica, New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. , and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Dr. Peter Weston of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens may refer to:

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland
Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

told Reuters News Service.

Watson identified the species after botanist Robert Kooyman discovered a stand of about 20 mature trees, calling it remarkable that the species could have gone unnoticed in the heavily researched and documented rainforest.

Cuttings were taken for cultivation at Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens. The trees' exact location is being kept under wraps for their protection.

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Title Annotation:	90 million year old tree species found in Australia rain forest
Publication:	American Forests
Article Type:	Brief Article
Geographic Code:	8AUST
Date:	Mar 22, 2001
Words:	130
Previous Article:	GENERAL SHERMAN YOUNGER THAN IT LOOKS.
Next Article:	TRANSITIONS.
Topics:	Rain forest animals Discovery and exploration Rain forest fauna Discovery and exploration

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