Endangered plant bursts into life at Botanic Garden

Published Date: 19 February 2009
By GARETH EDWARDS

A JELLYFISH tree has burst into flower at the Botanics – to the surprise of staff who fear the rare plant may be on the verge of extinction.

The endangered plant – which takes its name from the shape its seeds make when rooting – has never been known to flower in Britain before.

It is also feared to be dying out in its native Seychelles, where no new seedlings have taken root for years.

The Capital's Botanic Garden has had its plant in its glasshouse for six years, during which time it has grown more than half a metre tall.

Staff at the Botanics have been taking extra care of it after other botanic gardens around the UK found their specimens died after three years.

Having kept it alive so long, the staff have been rewarded with their first sight of the small white and yellow flowers produced by the rare species.

They are now waiting hopefully to see if they can collect seeds from the plant to try to cultivate more of the trees.

Glasshouse supervisor Fiona Inches said: "We were all surprised when we saw the flowers. It seems to have done very well in the humid conditions of the glasshouse.

"The flowers are quite small, with creamy white petals and the thin yellow stamen which mark them out as male flowers.

"We are keeping a close watch for the bisexual flowers, which will hopefully allow us to get some seeds from which we can grow more of the trees."

The Jellyfish Tree, or Medusagyne oppositifolia, is only known to grow in the wild in one place in the world – the island of Mahe in the Seychelles.

It can grow up to ten metres tall in the wild. Until the 1970s it had been thought to be extinct, as no examples had been spotted for decades.

At the moment, it is estimated that there are only around 50 of the trees growing in the wild, but with no new seedlings spotted for several years there are concerns about the future of the plant.

The original seed was given to the Botanic Garden's Regius Keeper, Professor Stephen Blackmore, who is a trustee of the Seychelles Islands Foundation.

The jellyfish tree is expected to be in flower for around a month, and is on display in the glasshouse of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.