A project to save one of the UK's rarest native trees has launched in North Yorkshire. The Forgotten Flora project, led by the Howardian Hills Partnership and North York Moors National Park, aims to increase the population of black poplar trees, which has dwindled to around 7,000 in the UK and Ireland.
According to project leader Ambrose Greenfield, the population of black poplar trees is severely limited by the fact that only about 600 of the remaining trees are female, while the rest are male. This makes natural seed reproduction difficult, as male and female trees need to be close to each other for fertilisation to occur.
The project involves propagating saplings from surviving trees in the county, which are being nurtured in Terrington before being planted within the next two years. Greenfield explained that the project team has taken cuttings from two mature trees in the Howardian Hills, one of which is female. The team hopes to reproduce naturally by planting male and female trees close to each other in damp ground, such as wetlands.
Black poplar trees were once a valuable source of timber for floorboards, cart wheels, and wagon bottoms due to their naturally springy wood. The Forgotten Flora project, which began three years ago, has already led to the planting of thousands of lesser-known wildflower species in North Yorkshire.