Durban - Cape Town is preserving one of the country’s oldest cultivated trees, a 300-year-old Saffron Pear – by cloning it.
Tiny shoots have begun to grow from cuttings of the tree in the Company’s Gardens.
This follows a motion that the city’s oldest cultivated tree be preserved.
Cuttings were taken a few weeks ago and city officials believe the shoots will develop.
The mayoral committee member for community services, Belinda Walker, said the tree was planted during the initial Dutch occupation of the Cape.
“It is estimated to be more than 300 years old,” Walker said.
“Should the original tree die, its clone could be planted.”
The City of Cape Town’s parks department built a protective fence around the original tree to keep it viable, but decided also to take cuttings.
A few years ago the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry started a project to identify trees nationally that were worthy of special protection.
These are known as Champion Trees and the Saffron Pear tree is one. When a tree is declared a Champion Tree under the National Forests Act, it receives “special” protected status and may not be cut or damaged without a licence.
The department defines Champion Trees as trees of “exceptional importance that deserve national protection because of their remarkable size, age, aesthetic, cultural, historic or tourism value”.
Walker said the preservation initiative could be the first in Cape Town.
“This is a great way for the city to celebrate Heritage Month.”
Cape Town had an array of Champion Trees, Walker said. - The Mercury