The first successful rooting of the critically endangered Yellow Peeling Plain (Mutavhatsindi) tree has occurred at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.
After two years of experimenting with various propagation methods, South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) conservation horticulturist and tree expert Mpendulo Gabayi from Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Mpho Mathalauga (horticulturist) from KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden, and Ntsakisi Masia (seed collector-Millennium Seed Bank Partnership) from Thohoyandou National Botanical Gardens have announced they have been triumphant in their efforts.
All the propagation methods tested had not shown any promising results. However, through manipulation of plant growth regulators using the air layering method and Dyna Ball (PBR international), positive results were obtained. The propagules had shown a good set of healthy roots emerging, but had a low rooting percentage of 15%. Through a successful procedure of air layering new trees can be grown from branches that are still attached to the parent plant.
More propagation methods and procedures are still under trial to build on to the current successful experiment. “For future generations to appreciate the existence of the Mutavhasindi tree it is of utmost importance that the need for its conservation is incorporated into education, communication and public awareness programmes,” said Gabayi.
In 2020, he highlighted the severity of threats to the Mutavhatsindi tree’s existence in South Africa, as none had been successfully propagated before. They only exist in a small 110-ha sub-population in Mutavhantsindi Nature Reserve where they are favoured for their medicinal benefits and are, therefore, heavily harvested.
The Mutavhatsindi, scientifically known as Brackenridgea Zanguebarica, is a species of tree that has been under extreme threat due to the harmful harvesting of mature tree parts, which resulted in the poor regeneration of the new generations of trees.
“Mutavhatsindi is highly sought-after for its medicinal bark and roots, and traditional healers use the yellow dye to treat wounds, worms, aching hands, swollen ankles and amenorrhea (the absence of menstruation). Due to its severe rarity and limited occurrence, the tree is currently categorised as critically endangered on the Red List of South African Plants,” explains Gabayi.
Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Venda in the Limpopo Province, together with the Sanbi team, collaborated to save this highly endangered tree species.
This project was supported by ArbNet, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership and Propagation BioScience Research (PBR) International. These institutions teamed up to create a long-term project that will result in saving and preserving the SA gene pool through ex situ and in situ conservation.
These saplings of propagated trees will be used to establish ex situ collections and more propagation research trials at Kirstenbosch, as well as at Thohoyandou.
