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The St.Helena Ebony has been reduced to two specimens in the wild but fortunately it has established a foothold in cultivation.
I saw it at Rosemoor a couple of seasons ago, where they demonstrated quite convincingly that it isn't hardy
in north Devon. I was delighted when I was offered a seedling and managed to keep it safe through the winter
to watch it die as soon as I put it back in the greenhouse in spring. It seems to be tough enough to survive in the extreme south west so it should be secure in gardens. Unfortunately the winter of 2010 was particularly harsh and the plant didn't survive here in a cold greenhouse. Strange Wonderful Things say: "The remote island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic is more known as the place Napoleon was exiled to, but it made botanical history when a plant thought to be extinct was rediscovered there in 1980. The beautiful St. Helena Ebony - Trochetiopsis ebenus - was found clinging to a steep cliff; its population had dwindled to just 2 plants. It was given endangered species status and saved from extinction." |
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| 9th May 2010 | ||
