Retired couple with real life ‘money tree’ in garden produce seeds for first time that are worth over $6K
The couple are planning to sell the seeds for charity
Callum Jones
A retired couple are now in the possession of seeds worth over $6,000 after a rare prehistoric tree in their garden came up trumps.
Pamela and Alistair Thompson, both 75, bought a Wollemi pine for $93 in 2010 as a sapling after discovering that dinosaurs used to snack on its fruit.
Wollemi pines – often dubbed dinosaur trees – date back more than 90 million years and are said to have died out alongside the T-Rex.
The UK couple planted one in their garden in Worcestershire, UK, and this week it produced seeds for the first time.
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And if as expected each cone produces hundreds of seeds, the couple could rake in tens of thousands of dollars in the years to come. I mean, who needs a pension!
"It really does prove that money can grow on trees!" Alistair said of the latest developments.
Pamela was stunned to discover the rare tree bearing fruit for the first time ever in April, and this week's discovery has left her in even more shock.
"I had been keeping half an eye on a female cone for ages as I was advised they usually drop their seeds in late August early September," the retired police officer said.
She continued: "This year has been so unusually dry, it happened earlier.
"A few days ago I reached up to a female cone and the seeds all cascaded into my cupped hands as I touched it.
"It was very exciting actually collecting the seeds from such an ancient tree that lived when dinosaurs roamed - I shall definitely try to germinate seeds from a critically endangered tree.
"We have around five large cones which have produced about a hundred of so large seeds each. It would be lovely to see just how many seeds we can produce but I have been very surprised by the numbers so far this year."
Pamela and Alistair hope to see money raised for charity from their latest discovery, and plan to do so by selling the seeds in small packs.
The grandmother of three added: “I saw a small tree for sale for more than £1,000 ($1,300) which shows just how rare they are.
“We are planning to package the seeds into bundles of five or six and sell them online for £5 ($6.70), so around £1 ($1.34) per seed.
"We've seen some online retailers sell them for much more than that but we would want to make them accessible for people as well as raise money for charity.
"We don't yet know how many seeds would be healthy and produce trees, only time will tell."
And if you're in the area, you'll be able to see the 'money tree' in real life on Sunday (August 24) as Pamela and Alistair are opening their garden to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme.