Western Daily Press (Saturday)
King plants ‘dinosaur tree’ at arboretum
KING Charles joined staff at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire to plant an endangered tree this week.
The King planted a critically endangered Wollemi pine tree within Silk Wood at the arboretum.
The planting was part of an international conservation effort to establish a flourishing, genetically diverse population of these rare trees across the world.
More than 170 young Wollemi pine trees grown by Botanic Gardens of Sydney were shipped from Australia and have been looked after at Forestry England's tree nursery at Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest in Kent.
Six have been planted to become part of the living collection at Westonbirt with a further six planted at Bedgebury, while the remaining trees have been distributed to 27 botanic gardens across the UK and Europe.
Separate collections of trees have been sent direct from Sydney to five Australian botanic gardens and one in Atlanta in the USA.
Wollemi pines have been dubbed the ‘dinosaur tree' because fossil records show they were living 200 million years ago alongside the dinosaurs. It was thought they had become extinct between 70 and 90 million years ago until a chance discovery in 1994, when a small group of living trees was found by an Australian explorer and botanist, David Noble, growing in a remote gorge in the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales. The tree species is now classified as critically endangered on the IUCN's red list, an important indicator of the world's biodiversity.
Since its discovery, there has been a concerted effort to insure the species against the loss of the remaining wild trees, with fewer than 100 left growing in a gorge 150 kilometres from Sydney. These wild trees are increasingly vulnerable to threats from diseases and wildfires.
Recent advances in genetic techniques have enabled Australian plant science and conservation experts to identify and breed genetically diverse Wollemi pines. For the first time, these genetically diverse collections of saplings are being made available to botanic gardens across the world.
Geraint Richards, head forester to the Duchy of Cornwall and to the King said: “It is extremely significant to have King Charles plant a Wollemi pine at the worldrenowned Westonbirt Arboretum.
“This event combines His Majesty's long-standing concern for protecting the environment with his great enthusiasm for tree planting.
“We know that visitors will enjoy seeing this rare species and will hopefully be inspired to learn more about what the world's leading botanic gardens are doing to protect and conserve our trees.”