I Think That I Shall Never See a Poem Lovely as a Tree – Beagle Eyed Botanists Saving the Ancient Race
I Think That I Shall Never See a Poem Lovely as a Tree –
Beagle Eyed Botanists Saving the Ancient Race
Scottish scientists are using the finds of HMS Beagle to help save some of the world’s oldest tree species. The giant redwood Fitzroya from South America is at risk and it is deemed as important to save as the giant panda or the elephant. These trees are among the tallest and the oldest trees in the world with life spans that can cross millennia. Yes it’s hard to think of something that can live for more than a 3,600 years. The redwood Fitzroya were first found scientifically by Robert Fitzroy, captain of the famed survey ship HMS Beagle and founder of the Met Office. They grew in southern Chile and Argentina and were in abundance in the 1830s when the Beagle landed. Another famous person on board the Beagle was of course naturalist Charles Darwin and he recorded specimens 60 metres high, which is the equivalent of 13.9 double-decker buses on top of each other. I found that out by a handy bus calculator. Isn’t the internet weird?
Fitzroyas Older than Stonehenge
Of course these monster trees were much prized by the logging industry and the Fitzroya became commercially extinct by the early 1900s and now scientists and tree lovers are worried about climate change which could see them could disappear altogether. It seems that in some parts of southern Chile the amount of rainfall has halved and that will have a devastating effect on Fitzroya growth and spread. Scientists in Edinburgh looking at specimens here have found that from numerous trees dating back to the original introduction of the species to Britain by Scottish horticulturalists in 1849 that they were all propagated from a single tree Whoops! Now this is a shame, because you need genetic diversity to adapt and survive in new conditions. But working with seeds from the original expedition and samples from Chile and with natural genetic variation, and detailed records of every tree’s wild origin, UK Fitzroyas can now be used to restore the species to forests in Chile. Yay! And if you want to see a Fitzroya there are 400 of these magnificent trees planted around the UK. In Scotland go to the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, or try Scone Palace and the Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire. The finest of course can be found in Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens and others in the Chilean temperate rainforest project at Benmore near Dunoon, in Argyll. Smashing! I love trees.
Pirie Diversity
And among many other things I love is the diversity we have in our own natural habitat at James Pirie. Why we don’t just do very fine glassware, we do so many other great Scottish products. There are Shearer’s Candles, Caithness Glass, Harris Tweed and the Just Slate Company. All of which along with our fabulous porcelain and nifty giftware adds up to a fine selection worth preserving, pardon the tongue in my cheek, jings! Have a gander at our Magic of the Highlands page it has everything and I bet Jamie and Claire Fraser would have loved to choose from this great selection as they built their log cabin up on Fraser’s Ridge. And don’t worry I am bang up to date with the latest goings on in Highlander, but won’t spoil any of its magic for you: Happy shopping.
