Rewilding Torreya taxifolia
Status of Rewilding Project
Click for the detailed Report of 2009 Seed Distribution filed by Lee Barnes.
I went by Sara Evan's property on Eagles Nest to check the Torreya. All but two looked great. The snow did not knock over the plants quite as much as at the Bryan Nature Garden. I'm guessing the snow was not as "wet" at the higher elevation. My friends at Grass Roots nursery near Junaluska measured lows of 0 degrees F., but I don't think it was quite as cold at Lake Junaluska. I measured 9 degrees F. as a low on the porch at my house in Waynesville. By the way, Lake Junaluska is mostly frozen over; I think I've only seen that 2-3 times in the last 30 years.
"I just cleaned 301 seeds that are ready for distribution. There were 115 "floaters" and 186 "sinkers." I've downloaded Connie's list of Torreya Volunteers and also will look at my list of geographically important volunteers and Botanical Gardens that were sent poor quality seeds in the past (we really need folks with facilities to germinate and raise seedlings for several years prior to transplanting into the wild.) I'm wanting to get seeds out so that folks can stratify in situ, fluxuating day/night ground temperatures (per Determann's recommendations). I'm a little concerned about the large number of "floaters" (seeds that float in water), but personal communications with Dr. Ed Croom indicates his contacts with Maclay Gardens (FL) who had good germination with floaters.
"We collected 300 (more or less) seeds from our Torreya trees this fall." [Note: Connie Barlow and Lee Barnes responded in the affirmative that we are interested in distributing those seeds.]
Final report is that no Torreya taxifolia seedlings germinated for 2009. I lost one of last year's small seedlings (from 2008 seed harvest) to voles. All other seedlings (from 2008 harvest) are prospering.
An article by Sidney Cruze reports on the assisted migration issue in the context of the actual plantings of "Florida" Torreya that Torreya Guardians did in North Carolina (Waynesville area) exactly one year ago. (The article cannot be accessed online.)
I finally got up to the Evans property site to check on the 21 Torreya taxifolia seedlings we planted there July 2008. All look great, including the "runt" of the original transplants. I'm enclosing some photos of the Torreyas there, including the seedling named Celia, who just missed getting hit by a fallen branch. In general, the plants at this location were with 2+ inches of new growth, a bit less than growth at Lake Junaluska (site number 1 of the 2008 Waynesville seedling plantings), presumably due to higher elevation and slightly later bud-break.
I'm sad to report that we have lost a total of 3 of the ten Torreya seedlings at Lake Junaluska [planted as seedlings July 31, 2008]. The loss appears to be from voles eating the bark. I'll send some photos when I get a chance. We are placing short wire-cages of 1/2 inch hardware cloth/rabbit wire around the remaining plants there. I'll try to get up to the Evans property set of trees in the next few days to report and get some photos. The remaining plants at Lake Junaluska have flushed out with 3-4 inches of new growth. The plants in the sunny area are doing the best, or at least seem to have the thicker foliage.
Seedling No. 31, "Celia," was donated by Atlanta Botanical Garden. It grew from one of many seeds produced by the Garden's "potted orchard," which was grown from branchlets harvested in 1991 from living original, wild trees in the Apalachicola pocket reserve. The branchlets were cloned, so this particular seedling represents the first generation of captive produced seeds from the original wild genotypes.
Editor's Note: Russell will be sending more information and photos of the site and plantings, so that we can put up a webpage dedicated to following events at this additional new site for assisted migration.
Squirrel pressure at Smithgall is tremendous. They will take every seed. I'll try to harvest seeds, of course, but it is hit or miss as to how many and how ripe they may be. I must harvest early due to squirrels.
Lots was happening leading up to that historic event. You can gain a sense of the preparation by viewing the CHRONOLOGY of events leading up to the rewilding action.
Also, an important academic paper, "Assisted Colonization and Rapid Climate Change," was published July 18 in the world's premier scientific journal, Science. You can learn about that document and the media attention it unleashed by visiting, our ANNOTATED LIST OF ARTICLES ON ASSISTED MIGRATION.
That paper also signalled a shift in terminology. What once had been "assisted migration" now is "assisted colonization." You can sample the arguments for and against the shift in terminology at our What's in a Name? webpage.
EMAIL SENT TO ALL FRIENDS OF TORREYA GUARDIANS
Dear Torreya Guardians,
PS from Connie:
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.
This month I received inquiries from 2 print journalists and 1 radio journalist who wanted to learn more about our efforts to rewild Torreya taxifolia. It seems that with the new interest in assisted migration in a time of global warming, journalists are looking for some actual instances of people actually intentionally doing it, in behalf of a species. Well, we are the closest it comes — and yet we aren't quite doing it yet either. With the little seed stock of this highly endangered plant that we have access to, we are still at the stage of passing seed on to individuals and institutions who commit to nurturing groves of this species. Not until those groves start producing seed themselves will we have enough seeds to gamble on planting some in wild forested landscapes on private lands, where they can grow (or not grow) as circumstances allow, and so that squirrels can become natural dispersers of the 3rd generation seeds, rather than us.
The dead plant was the runt of the plantings and has looked pretty weak since the plantings. (Click here for more detail and photos of the tree, alive and dead.) It might resprout from the base in the spring, but I doubt it. I'll look closer at it next time I'm up there, maybe next week. The other weak plant was the second smallest transplant; it does have green needles at the base and I do expect it to leaf-out in the spring. Both of the plants were in the sunnier location.
All in all, I think we had excellent survival rates with no care after first month of hand-watering during a drought. The rest of the plants look firmly established and I expect all to grow and prosper. This proves to me that Torreya can be successfully rewilded as transplants. Time will tell if they will successfully reseed themselves at our two plantings. (Torreya seeds have been spread hundreds of feet from the mother trees by squirrels at Biltmore Estate for many years.)
I am saving some of the seeds from the Biltmore Estate to grow seedlings for a couple of years prior to transplanting at these two sites to try to introduce some genetic diversity (seeds from Biltmore and Woodlanders Nursery are from different sources, as well as the plant "Celia" that Connie got from Atlanta Botanical Gardens and carried across the country and back.) Same with seeds to Jack Johnson to add to his established plantings in North Georgia. We received 301 seeds from Biltmore Estate just before Christmas and I'm in the process to sending them out to Botanical Gardens and individuals at locations farther north. I want to get them to folks who can "ground stratify" them, exposing them to natural alternating day/night temperatures that greatly improve their germination based on Atlanta Botanical Gardens experience.
I'm wanting to keep some seeds for planting with our Waynesville sites: (I'm set-up to ground stratify seeds and grow to transplant size) so that we can increase genetic diversity here. I also want to send a good number of seeds to Jack Johnston who has had good germination procedures. I'm thinking 25-50 seeds for Waynesville and same for Jack.
I've attached photos of the 3 Torreya seedlings (of the 10 planted at the Lake Junaluska site) that died during their first winter: Chauncy, Asa, and Croom. These three were all at the lower end of the Corneille Bryan Native Garden. If you look closely at the photos, you can see gnaw marks by relatively small paired teeth, which confirms my belief that this was vole damage. I carried hardware "cloth" wire to Janet to make wire cylinders to protect the remainder of plants at the Gardens and will run by and get pictures of the barriers. Editor's note: Click to access the photos and ongoing status report tree by tree: Chauncey Beadle Tree, Asa Gray Tree, Hardy Croom Tree, Celia Hunter Tree
Finished planting [2008 Smithgall Woods] Torreya seeds just before dark today. The seeds are somewhat smaller than 2007 seeds. I suspect the drought was the problem. We need to communicate about germination next summer. I am using my old seedbeds to save time, so they are packed with seeds. If there is good germination next summer it will be from 2007 seeds. Some of the seeds aborted before maturity this year [on the Torreya taxifolia trees at Smithgall woods]. They probably fell off due to drought.
There will not be any available seed from the Torreyas this year. Any seed formed were either aborted due to the drought or squirrels got to them before we could. Some of the trees are looking very weak and experiencing some dieback and loss of limbs. I hope it is a temporary condition, but they seem a little weaker each year. I am working with our arborist to see if we can do something to help them. He also reported finding no seed on the trees when he checked a month or so ago. That may have been a good thing for the trees in that they needed to reserve their energy in order to survive the drought. I have seen years in the past with few or no seeds followed by a bumper crop the next season. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a good 2009 season!
You can follow the development of the seedlings at the usual site: http://www.pinetum.org/TorreyaGuardians.htm. Any new germination will appear on it, too. This year the seedlings from 2005 Biltmore seed showed an amazing growth: they resumed growth 3 times, while T. californica is growing once and stops.
I received 10 seeds in the most recent distribution. Unfortunately, I have had no germinations, but I will keep them for another winter and see if I get anything in Spring 2009. I remember the website mentioning that best germination results were achieved when the seeds had been exposed to fluctuating cold and warm temperatures. By the time they arrived to me, Spring had pretty much started and there was not too much temperature fluctuation, so maybe that was the problem. Do you happen to know of any examples of seeds germinating after two years when they have not germinated in the first year? [Editor's note: Scroll down to the June 14, 2007 comment below, to learn of 2005 Biltmore seeds beginning to sprout in June 2007!]
Today (Oct. 12) 21 Torreya taxifolia were planted in my yard [hills of northernmost Georgia] in a location that will provide sun. The seedlings are in red clay soil which has been amended with lime. Germination was in mid summer and the seedlings averaged about 5 inches tall. Two seedlings died (root rot suspected) in the germination bed. All 21 seedlings were from seeds harvested in late Sept. 2007 [from trees at Smithgall Woods, NE Georgia, with manager's permission]. The first group was planted immediately last fall without removal of seed coats. The second group was allowed to stay in a warm basement until the seed coats softened. The seed coats were removed and the seeds were washed in soapy water and rinsed. In the two beds there was somewhat better germination when the seed coats had been removed. The harvest date of late Sept. was chosen to get seeds before squirrels. Ideally it would have been better to wait until an October harvest date [for fully ripe seeds].
Torreya taxifolia [purchased from Woodlanders Nursery in Aiken SC] and planted at 5 years of age and now in the ground two years withstood 22 days without rainfall and water this summer. Following a rain event of 5 inches, three of seven plants showed a few twigs with brown needles. I suspect lack of lime due to leaching by rainwater.
Smithgall Woods 2007 seed harvest sprouting
in northern Georgia (home of Jack Johnston).
Torreya sprouts. (Mesh deters squirrels from seeds.)
I went up to check the Torreya Wednesday and all look well. I've photographed them and will sort and distribute those photos in the next few days. We have received enough rainfall the last two weeks that I have not had to water the plants for three weeks. I'll continue to monitor the plants and look forward to showing them to Sara. There was a large tree that fell beside one plant, but no damage. The tree was sawed and I counted 110-120 tree rings in a middle section. One can see the growth release (wider growth rings for about 5-10 years) when the chestnut trees died about 70-80 years ago.
Seedlings No. 1 through 30 were purchased from Woodlanders Nursery in Aiken, South Carolina. The nursery owners wrote, "I believe all of the Torreya we have propagated and distributed in recent years (including the ones you refer to) were seedlings from plants here in Aiken. Years ago on a nearby estate we planted two female trees and a male. The females were cutting-grown from the famous old Torreya in Norlina, NC and the male was cutting grown from a specimen at the Henry Foundation in Gladwynne, PA."
Dear Connie,
I planted 10 of the Woodlanders' Torreya within a week or so after I helped with the Waynesville plantings. In general, all that Woodlanders had left were smaller plants (a season younger?) than what we planted as a group, so it will be hard to compare the fate of the two groups, at least for the first couple of seasons. I used approximately a cup of hydrated lime per planting. Until we had rains from the tropical storm Faye, I was watering my 10 plants every couple of days. But now at least there is considerably more naturally occurring moisture in the ground and I have cut back on the hand watering. These 10 are either along a forest edge or grouped further out into the sun of an old pasture/meadow. It will be interesting to see which do better.
All ten are showing at least some new growth, some more than others but it is too early to make any generalizations re edge vs open. All ten have wire 'cages' to help me identify where they are and to keep the occasional animal from running over the seedlings. I clothes-pinned rectangles of fiberglass window screening to the southwest quadrant of the cages to moderate the late afternoon sun until they harden off. I'm glad you have a little more info on the origin of the Woodlanders parent plants; something I was missing.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the future!
Note: Connie Barlow had asked Jack if he plans to harvest T. taxifolia seeds at Smithgall Woods (NE Georgia) this autumn, just as he did in 2007 (after having received permission to do so). His response:
The seedlings look great, and I had fun checking out all their names. I watered them Monday [August 4], and will keep watch. [Janet Manning is director of horticulture at Corneille Bryan Native Garden.]
Hi Connie: Now that you have visited my home [in NE Georgia] you can imagine seeing me carry water up the hill to the Torreya plants and to the new seedlings coming up. Still no rain. I looked at the photos on the website [of the July 30 action in North Carolina] and realized that anyone seeing it would sense a spirit of playful purpose in doing what we did. Nice touch.
I go to see Russell Regnery at his home [in North Carolina] on Thurs. He was able to purchase a few Torreya at Woodlander's Nursery. 4 I think. I left a note for Bob McCartney to send me some too, knowing they would be smaller than the ones we planted. I do not know how many. I hope to get them to Jeff Zahner [in Highlands, NC]. I'll have enough from the seedlings that are coming up. I pick up the plants on Thurs. Maybe Bob had a half dozen.
I was just at [the site of the 3400 foot] property this morning and the Torreya
seedlings look great (!) despite only scattered rain this last week. None
were wilted nor showed any signs of shock. I watered each plant with about
3/4 gallon of water and will water them once a week if we do not get regular
rain. I'll try to get by Corneille Bryan Gardens tomorrow to check with
Janet [Manning] and folks about those seedlings. I now have a white measuring stick
and intend to photograph each plant to document its initial height, double
check labeling and confirm the names Connie has detailed and do mapping. We should
probably want to document height growth each year.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Wow! On July 30, Torreya Guardians undertook the first truly "assisted migration" of the highly endangered conifer, Torreya taxifolia. We planted 31 potted seedlings on two forested sites near Waynesville, North Carolina. This "rewilding" effort was documented by a writer and a photographer commmissioned by Audubon magazine. The article will probably appear in the March 2009 issue. Meanwhile, sample our journey via:
I am just returned from Woodlander's Nursery and have 30 Torreya taxifolia in one gallon pots in my yard. The round trip was 406 miles. It took a lot of time, but I had a nice visit with Bob McCartney. He had additional plants if anyone wants more. I would guess he had about 10 that were a touch scruffy from this seed lot, then about 10 more that looked great but were younger, and a big pot of seedlings that represents another 15 plants maybe.
He took me to see his seed plants which are on a private estate. There are 3 cutting grown plants, one male and 2 females. One of the females was smashed by a falling oak limb and has not recovered. The two females are only about 3 feet tall and sprawl since they are cutting grown. The male is twice that size. It is so dry that the one female with
seeds is aborting most of them. Since Bob has no way to water it, there may not be seeds this year, or certainly only a few.
I'll share a bit of info regarding setting out the plants. I have found it best to get rid of all the material in the pot and try to get the roots in contact with dirt. Once the plant is
in the ground it is difficult to water through the bark mix used for growing. I lost a plant
last summer even though I was watering. When I pulled it up to examine the roots
it was readily apparent that the water was not penetrating well, and that the plant had
died from lack of water.
Also, I am concerned about these 30 plants being planted in the shade. It is probably easier for
the plants to survive the dry weather with shade, but I know they will not prosper unless light reaches the
crowns. I have ample evidence of how important light is due to observations of Stewartia
ovata that I grow. The plants put out leaves and grow a little in the shade, but given sun
they grow fast. I think it is the same with Torreya.
It is interesting to compare the seedlings I brought back today with the ones I have had
in the ground for two years. The ones in the ground are not much taller, but they have a
larger stem diameter. I asked Bob how long he thought it might take for seedlings to flower. He seemed to think about 10
years. However, the seedlings are already 3 years old, and given good conditions maybe less
than 10 years?
Torreya Guardians will be planting 31 potted seedlings on one or more forested habitats on private lands in western North Carolina (near Highlands and Cashiers). Exact lands yet to be determined. July 30 was set as the date for the planting so that Torreya Guardians Connie Barlow and Jack Johnston, as well as a photographer sent by Audubon Magazine, will all be able to converge at the site. For more information, contact: Connie Barlow.
Orion Magazine now has available online a long article that poignantly highlights the controversy over assisted migration of plants in a time of climate change, and Torreya Guardians are the featured group in this effort. Click here for "Taking Wildness in Hand: Rescuing Species", by Michelle Nijhuis. (You can also post a comment there online.)
Subject: 2008 Torreya Guardians Seed Distribution
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, Lee
1. This summer, Orion Magazine will be publishing a feature article on Torreya Guardians work in a time of climate change.
2. Also, do periodically check the comments page of our website to see what's happening, along with new ideas.
3. 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.
Besides the Biltmore Gardens, where squirrels have, for decades, been engaged in planting seeds on their own, I wasn't aware of any place where rewilding was somewhat occurring — with the possible exception of Smithgall Conservation Area in the southernmost Appalachians of northern Georgia. So I called Ron Determann at Atlanta Botanical Garden, which is superbly successful at producing T. taxifolia seeds from their "potted orchard" of trees cloned some 15 years ago from remaining vegetative tissue from struggling plants in the Apalachicola "native" range. Here is what Ron (who has been working with T. taxifolia since 1989) told me:
First, the Smithgall plantings are not rewilding, because they are planted as a grove and tended in a botanical garden setting there. Technically, rewilding won't happen until the species is returned to wild or semi-wild forest settings and starts distributing from there on its own (via squirrels). Atlanta Botanical Garden actually has an excess of torreya seedlings they would love to provide reputable institutions (at cost of shipping and handling) for safeguarding in a variety of climate settings where they will grow — as a safeguard against species extinction if problems persist in the "native" range, especially because, as with the Apalachicola, "the climate in Atlanta isn't that great for Torreya either." They also have surplus seeds from "indeterminate females", and these they are especially willing to give away. Unlike Torreya Guardians, they are not open to sending seed to individuals in private land settings. But we Torreya Guardians can spread the word among enthusiasts to try to recruit local botanical gardens or nature centers to volunteer to take seedlings, and then we ourselves can volunteer at those centers to nurture those plants.
Also important, Ron told me that Atlanta Botanical Garden has almost 100% success with germination of seed they produce there. Here is how they do it.
