Though slashed from its base, the Sycamore Gap tree might still have a future, the BBC reports, as dozens of seeds taken from the tree have now sprouted. A national landmark, the centuries-old sycamore tree stood in a picturesque gap between hills in England's Northumberland National Park before it was cut down last fall in what authorities describe as an act of vandalism. The remains of the tree were then whisked off to the National Trust's Plant Conservation Center, a "high security greenhouse" in Devon, whose exact location is kept secret, per the BBC.
The facility "cares for some of the rarest, and most historically and culturally significant trees," says Andrew Jasper, director of gardens and parklands at the National Trust, per ABC Australia. Its stock even includes a genetic copy of the apple tree that inspired Sir Isaac Newton's theories on gravity, per the BBC. Thanks to local horticulturist Rachel Ryver, there are also now genetic copies of the Sycamore Gap tree. Hours after the tree fell, Ryver gathered seeds, leaves, and young twigs with buds known as scion, which she mailed overnight to the center. "It was drying out fast," Ryver tells the BBC. "We had to save whatever we could."
Staff bound and sealed the twigs to fresh rootstock, thereby grafting genetic copies of the tree. There are nine surviving grafted plants, the BBC reports, in addition to 40 to 50 seedlings that will be ready to plant in another year. The seeds were grown "in a special peat-free compost mix," notes ABC. The first one to sprout is now about 4 inches tall. Some people have cried while holding the small pot, Jasper tells the BBC. If the Sycamore Gap tree's stump doesn't birth new life within a few years, the seedling could take its place. Or it could be gifted to schools and communities; the National Trust is still deciding on its plans. One thing is for certain: there is hope for this sycamore. (More United Kingdom stories.)
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