Colombo to save rare tree

SRI LANKAN authorities last Wednesday (17) agreed to save the world’s only known wild specimen of a species of tree that was due to be chopped down to clear the way for a fourlane expressway.

The Sri Lanka Legume (Crudia zeylanica) – a flowering tree from the legume family whose pods are not known to be eaten by humans – was first classified in 1868 and last found in 1911.

In 2012 the species was declared extinct, until the surprise discovery in 2019 of a lone tree near Colombo.

But the eight-metre (26-foot) plant was set to be felled this month to allow the construction of a motorway. The decision sparked uproar from environmentalists as well as politicians and the country’s influential Buddhist clergy.

Wildlife and forest conservation minister CB Rathnayake said last Wednesday that construction workers had been told to spare the plant.

“The tree will not be cut and the work will go ahead by passing it by,” Rathnayake told reporters in Colombo.

Giving a major boost to efforts to save the plant, a group of Buddhist monks last week “ordained” it, tying a saffron robe around the trunk and declaring it a “sin” to cut it down.

A top forestry expert welcomed the government decision, and said the case underscored the need for proper environmental impact assessments before undertaking major construction projects.