Tree from dinosaur age bears fruit for first time
A retired couple in Wichenford, Malvern, are hoping their Wollemi pine can be propagated to help the endangered species.
Dubbed 'dinosaur trees', the species dates back more than 90 million years and was thought to have died out with the T-Rex.
But a cluster of the prehistoric conifers was discovered in 1994, in a remote valley 125 miles west of Sydney, Australia.
In 2010, saplings and cuttings of the Wollemi pine were sold around the world, and one was replanted by Pamela and Alistair Thompson.
They planted it in their garden in Wichenford and discovered it bearing fruit for the first time this month.
Pamela, a 75-year-old retired police officer, said: 'It would be amazing, absolutely amazing, to have seedlings and to propagate from the world's rarest tree.
'I couldn't imagine being so lucky to do it.
'I saw a small tree for sale for more than £1,000, which shows just how rare they are.'
Pamela and her husband Alistair, a 75-year-old retired spinal surgeon, are opening their garden to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme on May 4.
The grandmother of three said: 'The long pendulous fruits are actually the male cones and the globular spiky fruits are the female cones.
'So, what we're really hoping later in the year would be to collect and germinate some of the seeds from it.
'That would be really something, but we will just have to wait and see.'
The Wollemi pine, which flourished about 200 million years ago, is thought to be the first endangered tree to be protected through mass commercial cultivation.
The tree is related to monkey puzzle trees and bears both male and female fruit.
It became the most significant botanical discovery of the 20th century when a cluster was found by a parks ranger as he abseiled into a remote canyon in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, in 1994.
After a decade of secret survival trials, it made its first European appearance in 2005, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Sir David Attenborough, who planted the tree, said at the time: 'How exciting that we should discover this rare survivor from such an ancient past. It is romantic that something has survived 200 million years unchanged.'
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'The individual(s) who stole the students' skulls and 'gifted' or sold them to the Phrenological Society were possibly driven by such motivations.' There remain gaps in records and confusing documents which mean the full story of the Richards brothers might never be told. "All we know is that some person or persons – fellow students, medical professionals, members of the Phrenological Society or grave-robbers acting on their behalf – were aware of the deaths of these two so-called 'Mulatto' students and perceived their skulls to be a valuable phrenological resource," the study adds. 'It is important to also reflect on the worlds in which racially minoritised students in the past lived and studied, including the racially motivated harms and indignities many will have faced in life and, as the story of these students' skulls would appear to indicate, in death.' A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: "We take our duty of care very seriously and all remains in our collections are looked after with the upmost dignity and respect. "We have teams of experts responsible for ensuring our historically significant archives are preserved, as well as being accessible for non-invasive research projects and outreach initiatives that help to enhance our understanding of the world. "We are committed to learning lessons from our past, including addressing our colonial legacy and its contemporary impact. "We work with many communities around the world to engage with our collections and facilitate the return of remains and artefacts." Further details on University of Edinburgh repatriations can be found here
