Rare tree survives thanks to Scottish garden rescue
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Conservationists transported two seedlings from the last wild dendroseris neriifolia tree to Logan Botanic Garden in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, as part of an international effort to save the species from extinction.
The dendroseris neriifolia, a tree daisy, is native to Robinson Crusoe Island, part of the Juan Fernández archipelago off the coast of Chile, and has faced decline due to habitat loss, invasive species, and wildfires. By 1980, only eight wild specimens remained.
Reintroduction projects in the early 2000s initially helped, but the breakdown of protective measures in 2017 left the tree vulnerable again. Currently, a single tree survives in the wild, requiring ropes to keep it from falling off a cliff. In May, scientists collected 29 seeds from this last tree and sent them to the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew Wakehurst, where eight successfully germinated.
Logan Botanic Garden was chosen as a secondary location for two of the seedlings because its climate suits rare Chilean plants. Garden curator Richard Baines believes Logan can help researchers learn more about the species and contribute to its long-term survival, while scientist Diego Penneckamp of Jardín Botánico VerdeNativo described the effort as a “race against time” to preserve a unique plant lineage.
