Comments on/about Rewilding Torreya taxifolia
EMAIL SENT TO ALL FRIENDS OF TORREYA GUARDIANS
Subject: 2008 Torreya Guardians Seed DistributionDear Torreya Guardians,
We are pleased to again offer packets of Torreya taxifolia (Florida Stinking Cedar) seed from the 2007 seed harvest at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. We thank Bill Alexander and his staff for collecting and sharing seeds for this grassroots distribution project. We are releasing 20 packets, each with 5 male and 5 female seeds to allow for better pollination. We are first offering seeds to the 2006 Distribution volunteers since most of them experienced low germination rates from refrigerator stored seeds. Seeds are currently being stored under natural temperatures but should be requested as soon as possible due to my recovery from hip surgery in mid-March.
Thanks to Connie Barlow for her detailed notes taken during her site visit in December 2007 to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Ron Determann's generous sharing of their highly successful germination procedures is available from our website http://www.torreyaguardians.org/propagate.html. Connie also has provided additional photographs and additional information on rooting cuttings, as well as, more info on site selection, shading and need for periodic liming. I will provide copies of this information with each mailing.
Key to successful germination is cold stratification to duplicate nature's cycles in ground beds that get the full range of daily temperature cycles (freeze/thaw) vs. constant 40-45 degree F. temperature storage in a refrigerator. The seeds to be distributed have only been partially stratified so you will need to plant them in protected beds where they receive natural temperatures for a month or two. Simple wire screening is recommended to protect from squirrels.
Please email your requests to me and provide complete shipping information. Connie and I are donating all mailing and packing costs and ask that you occasionally report germination status, and plant growth, fruiting, and seed production. Volunteers need to be committed for 10-15 years before good seed production is expected and be willing to further distribute seeds.
Thank you for your interest in preserving our national botanical treasure Torreya.
Happy Trails, LeePS from Connie:
1. This summer, Orion Magazine will be publishing a feature article on Torreya Guardians work in a time of climate change.
2. Watch the rewilding page too, especially the July 2007 post I made there about Atlanta Botanical Gardens looking for INSTITUTIONS to send seeds and seedlings to. They've got a huge inventory. Unlike Torreya Guardians, they cannot send seeds to individuals, but nature centers and botanical gardens should contact Ron Determann at Atlanta Botanical Garden directly to participate.
In early December 2007, I visited Ron Determann and David Ruland at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and toured their Torreya taxifolia propagation facilities. Most impressive! I have added to this website a catalog of advice for propagating this endangered tree from seeds and from branch cuttings, and have embellished the page with lots of photographs.
I have posted a new page and I keep updating it to keep track of the "assisted migration" debate that heated up January 2007, with the lead story of the January issue of Conservation magazine. It was a prelude to the April 2007 publication in Conservation Biology of "A Framework for Debate of Assisted Migration in an Era of Climate Change" by Jason S. McLachlan, Jessica J. Hellman, and Mark W. Schwartz, Conservation Biology, April 2007, Vol 21: 297-302. Torreya Guardians was prominently featured in both pieces. To keep up on this debate, visit the assisted migration compendium of papers page on this website.
Anon asks: The Norlina site is in Granville County, near the Virginia line. I
spent a whole day there, and scoured the town in search of a Torreya
taxifolia. I even contacted the Agricultural Extension agent, and he knows
of no such tree in or around Norlina. I would like to think the legend is
true, but I tend to think that if there were once a T. taxifolia, it has
either been forgotten or removed by newer homeowners.
Lee answers: I've been to the Norlina Torreyas in mid-1980s. There was a very large
torreya (notably a Champion so must be other records on girth/height/etc.)
and many smaller trees that appeared to have been transplanted/moved around
the landscape. Bill Alexander at Biltmore Gardens knows of the tree; his wife was a roommate with a woman
who was "related" to the tree, possibly a daughter of the landowner. He can
give you more info. As I remember, the tree was given to a NC Senator, but I cannot remember
details of over twenty years ago! I remember the tree had numerous basal
sprouts(many dozens in a clump) that would make good cutting material. I
recommend dormant cuttings after a few hard frosts in the fall. Good luck
on the hunt for cuttings... Happy Trails, Lee
Click to visit a long comment I posted in July 2007 on our Status of Rewilding webpage. It includes information on what the Atlanta Botanical Garden is currently doing in support of the official Conservation Recovery Plan for Torreya taxifolia as a highly endangered species. It also includes tips on how to have best success in germinating the seed.
Over the past week or so, I have received queries from two print journalists and one public radio journalist who wanted to converse about possibilities about their doing major stories on how global warming is already endangering a plant species and how assisted migration is being pursued as a result. This all got started because of a journal article by Mark Schwartz et al. on the topic of assisted migration, published in the spring issue of Conservation Biology, which prompted a preceding popular article on the subject by Douglas Fox in the sibling magazine, Conservation (cover story of January 2007 issue). Douglas chose Torreya as the lead character in that story.
Q: Hi Lee,
A: Jack,
NOTE by Connie Barlow:
"Last Sunday, I noticed my first seedling sprout from one of the seeds. I am going on vacation, after which I will take photos, and hopefully have a couple more to photograph."
"Woodlander's Nursery at Aiken SC has Torreya taxifolia for sale. The nursery is not willing to ship the plants across the state line since they are endangered, nor can one casually visit the nursery and buy them. An order must be placed in advance and a pickup appointment made. Availability can be determined by calling the nursery. The price is less than $20 per plant. The plants are a few years old. The several I have planted are growing but did shed some leaves in the drought.
"I have three T. taxifolia on my property: two large trees and one
medium tree with a clump of small trees and sprouts (maybe
seedlings?) around it. They produce a lot of cones, but I haven't
seen mature ones. I haven't really looked that hard, though. Maybe
there are treasures hidden in the ground around them, which hasn't
been disturbed in years.
NOTE/CORRECTION 6/15/07, Ron Determan of the Atlanta Botanical Garden submitted this comment: "The trees on the Ferris property in Decatur are the usual Cunninghamia lanceolata and NOT T.taxifolia. I don't know how many of those I have checked out over the years and found them to be that."
"Euan - Thank you for the info on the germination of 1 of 10 seeds of T. taxifolia. Don't give up hope on the other nine! It is possible that T. taxifolia co-evolved with tortoises as dispersal agents, so the seed coat might be designed tough enough to get through an animal's digestive tract intact. Absent that natural acidic treatment, it might take longer and variably among the seeds. I wrote a book, The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and Other Ecological Anachronisms, (Basic Books, 2001) in which I discovered, for example, that absent passage through a gut or physical scarification with a knife, the seeds of American honelocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) can take 3 years or more to germinate, and American Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica) can take 7 years. I found that when I scarred them with a knife in my kitchen, all viable seeds germinated in 3 days. Here are three on-line articles that I published about that book:
I am trying to locate someone or an institution in Florida interested in testing Torreya californica whole "fruits" on the large gopher tortoises in Florida, as in my 2001 book I surmised that the pulpy sarcotesta covering the seed might be an attractive food for the tortoise (which is known to eat the pulpy covered cycad seeds here). The experiment would not only test whether gopher tortoises find the fruit attractive but also whether passage through its gut affects germination success and timing. My hypothesis is that local extirpation of the gopher tortoise (and extinction of larger Pleistocene species of tortoise) by paleoIndians living in the tiny pocket refuge as the Ice Age waned may have prevented dispersal of Torreya taxifolia northward to its interglacial habitat in the southern Appalachian Mountains."
"Dear Torreya Guardians: I've germinated one Torreya taxifolia
seed. It germinated in December 2006 outside in a pot. The other 9 seeds, sorry to say, did not germinate. The seedling is now 2 inches high. I have one other
clone here of Torreya taxifolia." [Editor's note: This volunteer grower received a packet of 10 Torreya taxifolia seeds from the Fall 2005 harvest at the Biltmore Gardens of North Carolina].
"Dear Torreya Guardians: This is to inform you that the 2 first seeds germinated and are sprouting. Both labeled as [possible] male, date of sowing 16 May 2006. Best Wishes,
Didier"
"Dear Torreya Guardians: A new species of Torreya has been described from Sichuan in China:
"Hello! I came across your website recently about the FL Torreya tree and I was very impressed! It's great to see your site and all the detailed information on it! I'm Karl Studenroth, a field ecologist-herpetologist. I did extensive research at Torreya State Park from 1994 to 1999. I did amphibian and reptiles surveys, rare & endangered species surveys, ecosystem classification and mapping, among many other things. I also specifically surveyed and mapped Torreya trees in the park. I have a special love for the Torreya tree and of course Torreya S.P. and that area. Two years ago I founded the Northwest Florida Environmental Conservancy. I just wanted to let you know that I put some brief info about your Torreya Guardians website, and a link to your site on one of our web pages (page 12 - Steepheads). I hope we can perhaps work together and support each others groups in the future. Keep up the great work!" www.nwflec.com
"I have a good experience with Torreya californica seeds. Fertile seeds
usually take 18 months to germinate — that is during the second Spring after
collection, provided they are kept moist all the time. Very seldom would a few seeds germinate at the end of the first Summer. They will even germinate if kept in the refrigerator below 5*C.
What I have found disturbing about the "mainstream" is that they claim
that they want an endangered species to be saved from extinction, but then
they don't want to even hear about assisted rewilding or adapting similar
species from the same genus, but from other parts of the world. It seems that
some of the "mainstreamists" would prefer the T. taxifolia to exist only on
the back of their postcards seeking contributions for their national organizations' efforts — that one big failure would be preferable to their cause than the new thriving forests that can arise from assisted migration of compatible species.
Call it "assisted evolution," if you will. If mainstream ecologists prefer
to let them die before they'd allow assisted migration, then at what point will the actions of the Torreya Guardians shape the debate in allowing for the survival of other plant and tree species?
Click for Current Status of the T. tax Rewilding Project.
I'm Sylvain Meier, a freelance forest engineer from Switzerland involved mostly as a volunteer in the development of the dendrological
collections of the Swiss National Arboretum. www.arboretum.ch
To improve the value of our collection and test the right species under our relatively mild climate we would very much appreciate a few seeds or cuttings.
Is it possible?
California nutmeg is growing very well in Switzerland (it exist in parks in the lowland).
In Geneva they regularly produce sound seeds.
Japanese nutmeg is more seldom but apparently quite hardy too.
I have been to Japan last spring and have seen very often the Torreya nucifera var radicans that is growing in snowy areas of the west side of Honshu.
I'm not really sure Torreya taxifolia is actually growing in Switzerland...
Thanks again for your promising work.
Sylvain Meier
c/o Arboretum National du Vallon de l'Aubonne
Switzerland
The New York Times and other news agencies rapidly picked up the story, so I posted and periodically update a new page on this website, assisted migration. If you google "assisted migration" the proposed standards page on this website consistently comes up at or near the top, so journalists have found their way to me.
If and when any of this second round of stories come to fruition, I will post them on that webpage and also note the event on this comments page. Meanwhile, know that I am recommending for the journalists to directly contact the on-the-ground players in this, both among us Torreya Guardians, and those in the institutional settings.
Together for Torreya, Connie
I'm asking for feedback. Some Torreya cuttings stuck last Oct. are still green and may be struggling to root. I keep them under shade cloth to reduce the stress. If they root, would you expect them to grow any this year? I basically stuck the cuttings in pots, no mist, no cover, just shade. Did use rooting hormone. Jack
I've been most successful rooting cuttings in the fall after hard frosts have put the buds into dormancy. Cuttings taken at other times tend to flush new growth prior to rooting. So do you have any roots? or callus/excessive callus at the bottom end of the cuttings? I would have expected rooting within a few months. What strength rooting hormone did you use? Also, evergreen cuttings often benefit from scoring the bottom sides of the cutting. I generally used a sharp knife to lightly scape bark off the cutting along two sides of the bottom inch of the cutting. Larger diameter cuttings 1/8 to 1/4 inch diameter worked better than smaller diameter cuttings.
The root system of cuttings tend to be thick, unbranched and brittle. I hope this helps. It's been about 20 years since I've done Torreya cuttings. I never had trouble rooting but I had access to a mist system. It is important to root cuttings with upright growth. Lateral branches will root but plageotrophic growth and only grow as a groundcover. Happy Trails, Lee
Lee's point about taking cutting stock from upright growth reminds me of how much I have benefited from this knowledge when viewing ginkgo trees along streets and sidewalks. Because the fruit of the female trees has such a repugnant smell when fallen, our society puts a premium on ensuring that only male trees show up in public places, and they do that by rooting cuttings from demonstrably male trees. But if lateral cuttings are used, the "tree" still believes it is a branch and thus grows strangely. I have read that this problem can be solved by letting the "tree" grow enough to establish a good root and then cutting it back, so that the suppressed buds at the base sprout a whole new stem, and this time the stem knows it is supposed to make a whole tree.
Here are web links, first to the Woodlands home page and then the Torreya page:
http://www.woodlanders.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.main/index.htm
http://www.woodlanders.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=949
It's quite possible that these trees are from the original
population. My late grandfather-in-law, Harry Dewar, was an
electrical engineer who often worked for the TVA on dam projects. He
collected specimens from all over the South and planted them on this
property, formerly a pasture, now a forest. This house was completed
in 1952, around the same time as the Appalachicola dam. It would make
sense that he would collect specimens from the area to be flooded,
assuming he was there, but I have no proof of this.
In any case, I would like someone to come look at the trees and tell
me how I can help to preserve them. I want to make some changes to
that area of the property — take out the non-natives and get rid of
some pines and magnolias — but I'm afraid to alter the conditions lest
it affect the existing trees. I would love to plant more T. taxifolia
in place of the common trees, if I can get them. I'm also interested
in planting some Franklinia.
Please email or call me and let me know how I can help with this or
any other conservation projects. You can forward this email to any
other interested parties."
Thank you,
Kara C. Ferris, Decatur, GA
"Hi Connie,
Intriguing hypothesis about the gopher tortoises, but I much prefer your earlier idea that there was some other seed disperser that has gone extinct. From my experience here in Florida, the gopher tortoise and T. taxifolia just don't share the same habitat. The box turtle is the one inhabiting T. taxifolia grounds, rich and shady hardwood forests. The gopher prefers high, dry, sandy areas where they can easily dig long burrows.
I checked The Fossil Vertebrates of Florida, edited by Richard Hulbert Jr. It says box turtles (Terrapene carolina) are common in Pleistocene beds; they are herbivorous and primarily terrestrial; they were more widespread in the past, though never common; that gigantism is typical in Pleistocene coastal populations but the subspecies is extinct. Among land tortoises, besides gophers, there were larger tortoises in the genus Hesperotestudo. Subgenus Hesperotestudo reached 2 feet, subgenus Caudochelys grew to over a meter. Both subgenera lived through the late Pleistocene. Evidence suggests early people in FL found giant tortoises and hunted them.
Now get this: "Giant tortoises are important paleoecologic indicators of relatively mild winter temperatures, as they cannot withstand prolonged periods of freezing. Their presence in Florida and elsewhere throughout the southern Unites States during the Pleistocene Epoch is seen as evidence that winter temperatures were actually on average milder during the so-called Ice Age than at present." We've seen how comfortable Torreya is in a colder climate, so maybe tortoises were not the main disperser for Torreya. Any other suspects?
In any case, if someone is going to test this, it seems it should be done on box turtle as well as gopher tortoise. Also, is there a reason for not using T. taxifolia itself if seeds are available for assisted migration?"
article in Natural History
article in Wild Earth
article in Arnoldia
Torreya parvifolia Yi, L. Yang et Long, a new species of the Taxaceae
from Sichuan, China, is described and illustracted. The new species is
closely related to Torreya yunnanensis Cheng et L. K. Fu, from which it
differs apparently by the shorter and smaller stem, 4 to 5m high, 10 to 15cm
diameter; smaller leaves, (1.2)1.5~2cm long, 2.2~3mm broad, acute on the
apex with short acumen, rotund or rotundly cuneate at the base, upper
surface only below with inconspicuous 2-canaliculates, under surface with
2 stomatic bands broader grey white, nearly as width as mitrib and green
side; seeds with arillate obovoid or rare nearly globose, smaller, 1.5~2cm diameter. SOURCE: click here
Content: References a forthcoming paper to be published in the journal Conservation Biology that encourages debate on the topic, by Mark Schwartz, Jason McLachlan, and Jessica Hellman
This is an article exploring the debate about assisted migration of plants in an era of global warming. The work of Torreya Guardians is mentioned.
[Note: The Arboretum de Villardbelle specializes in world conifers and it was the recipient of a package of 10 T. taxifolia seeds from the 2005 harvest at the Biltmore Gardens.]
About our Torreya taxifolia seeds, none of mine germinated so far, but I am not worried. I will send a message (and a photo) as soon as the first will
germinate/sprout. They are in 10 tubes and during the Winter I will keep them outside, but in a frost free place."
"I visited Woodlanders Nursery (in Aiken, SC) today and purchased 3 T. taxifolia for $16.50 each. Since these plants are endangered, they do not ship, but anyone can drive to the nursery after first placing an order by computer. They do not allow any walk-in sales. The plants are approximately 18 inches tall and look great. The inventory at the nursery is 60+ plants at this time. They are seedling grown. I am not aware of where the seed source. I do know that there are a lot of unusual trees planted around Aiken, and it is possible that they are growing there.
Note: It seems that the seeds produced this year by the T. taxifolia growing at a DNR preservation site about 40 miles from here were harversted by squirrels around October 7."
"We also have lots of Torreya material at the Univ. of NC (NCU is the
herbarium acronym). The key that I sent to Connie included both North
American species.
Wrapping material in damp newspaper, then that in a plastic bag,
with the material sent by reasonably rapid mail, would insure the
material was fresh when received.
Our Herbarium is curated by Alan Weakley who is writing a flora for NC,
SC, VA, and GA. Since folks from Highlands have often sent herbarium
material to our herbarium, we may even have specimens on hand of the
same trees."
"I heard a theory new to me this week as to why the torreya started dying
off. Some unknown organization was promoting the Chinese holly (not sure if
it was a holly or a tree that looks similar to torreya called China fir) and
giving away trees in the area for planting. This was supposedly about the
time the torreyas got blighted, and some of the locals are convinced it was
the cause."
"I checked on the Torreyas at the Tallahassee
Museum. They all look pretty sad with only low spreading branches.
Still, they are surviving and that counts for something."
"Here is the key in Flora North America. It includes mostly vegetative
characters, and since the cones you saw may have been immature, did you
try keying the needles?
"I uploaded some photos of Torreya nucifera at www.plantsystematics.org (type Torreya in the Taxon search field, and the images will appear).
You probably have better images, but you a most welcome to use these if
not. I remember when we looked for this species in the Garden's conifer
collection, which at the time was being renovated. That collection is
now beautiful--one of the most pleasant places in the Garden [New York Botanical Garden]."
"When comparing two groups of plants at different sites, it is entirely possible as you know, for variability due to differences in genetic material. When you say that the Highlands and Biltmore populations are different, and are basing it on fruit shape alone, I do not think that is enough. For example, I collect Stewartia seeds and find all kinds of differences from one plant to another in capsule shape, leaf shape, and habit of the plants. If you are convinced that the two populations are different species, it should be based on several characteristics.
I have just returned from Oregon and was in a yard where an atypical Douglas fir was misidentified by a long time resident based on the bark and limb patterns. Had he looked at the cones, it would have been easy to correctly identify.
Brown leaves, twigs: Something similar can happen with Canadian hemlocks, and it is not the wooly adelgid problem.
Seed availability: assuming competition from squirrels, less than 100% harvest, and seeds that are non-viable, it remains to be seen what can be done this year. I hope your man on the site is aggressive in collecting. For example, I collected Magnolia fraseri before going to Oregon (early date for harvest) and when I returned, the seeds were gone from the wild sites. In this case, a 12 day delay in harvest would have meant a missed crop.
Cuttings: for a backyard hobbist to try to grow T. taxifolia from cuttings would mean a probable loss of the cuttings. Have you considered asking the folks at Biltmore to grow cuttings for this effort and making them available? If they are willing, this should take little greenhouse space, and rooted cuttings can be available in 12 months.
Site requirements: checking with the folks already growing Torreya in Georgia as to the best site requirements will save making a lot of mistakes. For example, with magnolias it can generally be said that full sun is best, but some in the group like shade. I do not think that one can compare the California material to the Florida as to site requirements.
Future seed set at Biltmore: assuming that Biltmore will continue to provide seeds, an annual visit to the trees and a comparison to your mapping should be done. This will indicate which trees are producing fruit, if a tree does not produce, if new ones start setting seeds, and if there are deaths."
"
"We no longer have any Torreya, as I shipped
them all south where they can be put in the ground. We propagated about
4 or 5 thousand of the cuttings so I felt we had done about as much as
we could. If a tenth of those survive to seeding size, I'll be happy."
Webmaster Connie Barlow has just posted photo-essays of August 2006 site visits to fruiting groves of Torreya in Asheville, North Carolina and Highlands, North Carolina (site suggested by Robert Zahner, below). There is also a new posting on the distribution of 2005 T. tax seeds.
The local Torreya trees are on the old Harbison farm about two miles south of Highlands. Prof. Thomas Harbison made Highlands his home off and on from 1880 until he died in the 1930s. He was a field botanical collector for Harvard's Arnold Arboretum and for the herbaria at the University of North Carolina and at Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate.He could have collected the Torreya seeds from the Florida source at any time about 1910 to 1920. There is no family record as to when the Highlands Torreya were planted, probably from seedlings he grew from seed. (He had a small commercial nursery here.) Harbison built his last house here in 1920, and the Torreya trees are located about 150 feet from the house. He may have planted them before the house was built, but probably not until shortly after. We will probably core one of the trees some day to determine its age.
Anyway, they are beautiful, healthy trees, flowering and fruiting well every year that I've checked them. There are six trees, three male and three female. The largest stem is 16" in diameter, several are over 13" and two are smaller at about 7" and 8." The two tallest are well over 50 feet in height. The smaller are simply overtopped by the larger, for they all appear to be the same age. There are natural seedlings and saplings in the near vicinity. It appears that squirrels and other rodents consume most seed along with the fruits, but a few escape and germinate. The small Torreya grove is part of a hardwood forest of larger trees.
You probably know that the largest recorded Florida Torreya is located on a farm near Norlina, NC, listed in the current register of big trees with a huge stem diameter of nearly three and a half feet, but only 53 feet tall. I have a photo of this tree taken in 1939, and even then (67 years ago) it was over two feet in diameter, a beautiful tree.
I also have the names of several people who have seen the Harbison trees, and are very interested in "re"-establishing Torreya here in the southern Appalachians. Anyhow, rewilding Torreya privately seems to be a good possibility, like the American chestnut projects being done through two private organizations, completely ignored by government agencies.
I worked at a garden in my home state of South Carolina for 7 years called Kalmia Gardens of Coker College. Are you aware that it has a mature Florida torreya, and several seedlings? I just wanted to pass this along in case it was not known. Hopefully, it is still healthy, and can provide seeds. I would welcome an email from interested parties wanting more details on this garden and/or a contact person there.
email: DAHope@lpagroup.com
I've just now sent out eight emails offering Torreya seeds to Botanical
Gardens suggested by Bill Alexander (NC Botanical Gardens, Chapel Hill, NC;
Bernheim Arboretum, KY; Dawes Arboretum, OH; Duke Gardens, Durham, NC; JC
Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, NC; NC Arboretum, Asheville, NC; Arnold
Arboretum, MA; and Arboretum de Villardebelle, FR.). I've requested their
response by April 1st. I'm hoping that email requests will be received and
acted upon quicker than by US Postal Service.
If everyone is interested, this leaves us about 19 seeds for individuals —
or two mailings. I'll wait until the 1st week in April to count requests,
and then will open to other individuals who have requested seed. My sense
is to ID the top interested folks that have facilities to germinate and pot
up and grow out larger seedlings. Editor's note: Lee Barnes is the volunteer Torreya Guardian in charge of preparing and distributing T. tax seeds harvested by staff of the Biltmore Gardens, Asheville NC.
My interest in evolutionary ecology has prompted me to successfully propogate warmer climate rare conifers for use in North Carolina. The T. taxifolia is the most recent example, and one that, finally, there are people like yourself who are interested in rewilding. My theory on evolutionary ecology is that with the advent of global warming (which I believe can only be slowed, but not reversed) we will be faced with many "rewilding" and "rezoning" of native plants and trees. I have watched the once great stands of Frasier Firs and Black Balsams in the Pisgah National Forest dwindle down to a fraction of what they once were in North Carolina. Acid rain and other factors that have led to their decline must be dealt with, I will not deny. But I believe that we must
replace those dying forests with species that will thrive in the new conditions, even if we must go to other parts of the world to find those species. Otherwise, the hardwoods and scrub pines will devour the once-magnificant stands of old fir forests, and they will exist only in pictures and in cultivation. So far, this theory has not come into the mainstream, and the Torreya Guardian project is the closest I've seen to it.
Great historical info from Bill!
I saw a large T. taxifolia in Columbus GA a few years ago in the historic
district (photos below). The homes have date placards, and I think it was 1898. The tree had
been hit by lightening before I was there and about half of it was dead as a
result. The homeowners said that, before that, the tree was fine. It was about a
foot dbh. There are supposedly some other old torreyas in this historic
neighborhood but this was the only one I found.
As I worked at the Arnold 15 years I can attest that there were no plants of Torreya taxifolia in the collection when I started (1977) nor Taxus floridana. Torreya nucifera seems to be the only ironclad Torreya for the Boston area. T. grandis is currently in the outdoors collection but looks beaten after a hard winter. Taxus floridana is grown on the grounds currently but am not sure about Torreya taxifolia. [Note: Arnold Arboretum is associated with Harvard and is near Boston MA]
Biltmore archival records show that Torreya taxifolia was originally brought to the Biltmore in 1896-97 and was growing at the Arnold Arboretum at that time also. In the "Biltmore Nursery Dept. Outgoing Correspondence, Vol. I 1896-1897"
there is a letter on p. 219 from C. Beadle to Prof. C. S. Sargent, Arnold
Arboretum. Beadle mentions having received from a correspondent of his in
Bristol, Florida,
"a few plants each of Torreya taxifolia and Taxus
floridana. I am quite interested to know if this latter species has ever
been in cultivation. I know that the Torreya has; indeed, you have it at the
Arnold Arboretum. If you have not plants of Taxus floridana, we will be
pleased to send you some as soon as our stock is sufficently advanced to
warrant the shipment."
The letter continues with Beadle talking more about exchanging plants. The records indicate (p. 908) that on 4 March 1897 Beadle sends Sargent specimens of Taxus floridana.
Download in PDF two articles, for and against assisted
migration of Torreya taxifolia, published as the featured
Forum in the Winter 2005 issue of Wild Earth. Download
the pro and con articles separately for printing on standard
size paper. Or, for viewing the 2-article Forum as it
appeared in publication (wide-screen, with all illustrations),
download the "Forum."