Seedlings have sprouted from seeds and cuttings rescued from the world-famous Sycamore Gap trees that were illegally felled last year.
The National Trust’s conservation team was able to grow around 45 seedlings from seeds and twigs recovered from a site near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, said Andy Jasper, director of gardens and green spaces at the trust. He spoke on Saturday’s BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
This plane tree stood in a beautiful hollow in Northumberland National Park for an estimated hundreds of years before it was deliberately felled in September. Photos of the aftermath of the damage showed that the base of the tree trunk had been cut with a chainsaw. There have been a number of arrests and investigations are ongoing.
Mr Jasper said the National Trust was activated on the day of the felling, working with the park to collect seeds and cuttings from the site. Although autumn is not the season for seed collection, the team was able to gather enough material to send to a secret location at a National Trust conservation center in south-west England.
The conservation center is home to some of Britain’s most famous plants and trees, including the apple tree that Sir Isaac Newton said inspired his theory of gravity and the 2,500-year-old Anchor Wick yew, which was visited by King Henry. Several copies of the gene are stored. VIII He courted Anne Boleyn in the 16th century.
The National Trust is keeping the center’s location secret to prevent visitors from potentially contaminating the plants. “Unlike most of the National Trust, which is open to everyone, this is one place where we can’t afford to have large numbers of people coming in with potential germs on their shoes,” Mr Jasper said. “There’s a lot of really important material there.”
The Sycamore Gap tree, which was named Britain’s Tree of the Year in the 2016 Woodland Trust competition and featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, joins the ranks.
Jaspal said the first seedlings appeared earlier this year. If the remaining stumps do not regrow, the National Trust has the option of replanting the trees in their original locations, but it is unclear what will happen to the remaining saplings once they are strong enough and have moved away from the centre.
In the aftermath of the felling, Mr Jasper said the trust had heard from “thousands, literally thousands” of people grieving the loss of historic trees.
“The story of when this tree was cut down shocked the nation,” he said. “I don’t think anything has ever caused such a reaction in the National Trust.”
The largest section of the tree will be unveiled to the public at Hexham’s tourist attraction The Sill, not far from its former site.
“This echoes much of the heritage we hold dear at the National Trust,” Mr Jasper said. “It’s not really ours. It’s everyone’s.”
