Press Release
Kew finds new hope for plant on brink of extinction
For release 27 November 2003
Experts
at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have made an historic breakthrough
by producing the first ever recorded fruits of the Café Marron,
giving new hope for the survival of this critically endangered plant
species.
The story of the Café Marron (Ramosmania rodriguezii) has been a sorry one. Thought to be extinct after its discovery on the island of Rodrigues in Mauritius in 1877, a single plant was found growing on a roadside in 1980 by a schoolboy looking for rare plants on the island. However there was little hope of future survival of the species as it was unable to produce seeds - or so it was thought.
This single known wild specimen was swamped by weeds, half eaten by grazing cattle and goats and suffering from disease. So in 1986 in a collaboration between the Mauritian Forestry Service, IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and Kew, small cuttings were taken which reached Kew in 24 hours. Kew's horticulturists were successful at propagating the plant and in November 2001, eleven plants were repatriated to the island. In addition four plants have been propagated by Richard Payendee and the Mauritian Wildlife team in Rodrigues.
This still didn’t solve the problem of long term conservation of the species as all the plants were clones of the original which was unable to reproduce. Initial research at Kew indicated that the pollen tube fails to grow through the style so producing seed was impossible. However, Dr V. Sarasan of the Micropropagation Unit found that the pollen and ovules were viable in culture and began testing ways of removing the barriers in the plant structure to allow better penetration by the pollen tube. One of Kew’s first year diploma students, Carlos Magdelena, conducted many pollination trials and, to his astonishment he recently found two fruits developing. These contained viable seeds, some of which have successfully germinated in vitro and others stored in the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place.
“This is a tremendous breakthrough that is significant in many ways,” says Margaret Ramsay, Head of the Micropropagation Unit at Kew. “Production of seeds has the potential to create genetic diversity, essential for the survival of a species, and may improve the strength and vigour of this slow growing, sparse shrub.”
Dr John Mauremootoo, Flora Manager of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, said “We are terribly excited about the developments at Kew for the Café Marron. As one of 42 surviving species endemic to the island, it is of immense importance to help conserve our unique plant diversity.”
The Café Marron is a member of the coffee family (Rubiaceae) and this common name is a reference to black slaves who were known as 'Marron'. It is a small shrub that has fragrant white flowers and the recently produced fruit is like a small fig. Local people on Rodrigues came to believe that such a rare plant would cure an array of ailments from hangovers to venereal diseases, although this has never been scientifically proved. A specimen can be seen growing in the Palm House at Kew.
See also:
Notes to Editors
Kew experts working on the project are available for interview.
Please contact Hannah Rogers in the press office at Kew Gardens on 020
8332 5607. Images of the shrub and fruit are also available by request.
For further Press information please contact:
|
Kew: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5607/5619 |
Wakehurst Place: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)1444 894018 |
