"Previously unknown rainforest communities with unique vegetation have been found in eastern Australia’s Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
Rainforests in the region extend 3 to 4 times greater than the NSW government’s current State Vegetation Type Map.
The Greater Blue Mountains Area is about 1.03 million hectares of sandstone plateaus, escarpments and gorges beginning about 60km west of Sydney. It covers an area roughly the size of Lebanon.
It is home to nearly 100 species of eucalyptus and protects the ancient “living fossil” Wollemi pine which was once thought to be extinct. The Blue Mountains provide critical habitats for more than 400 vertebrate animal species.
The breathtaking geology – including 300-metre cliffs, waterfalls and canyons – preserve a 300-million-year record of sedimentary rock layers. It is both an historical and living representation of the diversification of eucalypts following the separation of Australia from the rest of the supercontinent Gondwana beginning about 140 million years ago.
This lush ecosystem has only become richer with the new findings."
Plant lineages from 180 million years ago! So cool.