ghostsofevolution | Rewilding Florida Torreya to Cullowhee, NC - 2015 report @ghostsofevolution | Uploaded June 2015 | Updated October 2024, 13 minutes ago.
This wild forest site on Jim Thomson's property east of Cullowhee is the first location where Torreya Guardians have had access to a north-facing mountain slope. Here they will learn whether Florida Torreya thrives in this particular habitat of the southern Appalachians. Elevation 2,600 feet.
Connie Barlow films and narrates this field survey, led by Jim Thomson. Here they observe the 4 Torreya taxifolia seedlings that Jim planted 18 months earlier from their pots (grown from seed by Jeff Morris). The baby trees have thus survived 2 winters in this wild forest. The original big-needled leaves are seen here to be dying back, but healthy shorter needles are the growth form that this cool, shady location seems to call forth.
Importantly, once the trees are put into the ground they are not watered or sheltered or tended in any way. The aim is to determine whether the southern Appalachians offer suitable habitat for "rewilding" America's most endangered tree. Thus far, it seems that a northward, mountain climate is healthier for this historically Florida conifer. "Assisted migration" is the conservation strategy being tested here.
Visit the "What We Are Learning" page on the Torreya Guardians website for more details: torreyaguardians.org
An annotated list of all the "Video Reports" made to date can also be accessed on the Torreya Guardians website.
This wild forest site on Jim Thomson's property east of Cullowhee is the first location where Torreya Guardians have had access to a north-facing mountain slope. Here they will learn whether Florida Torreya thrives in this particular habitat of the southern Appalachians. Elevation 2,600 feet.
Connie Barlow films and narrates this field survey, led by Jim Thomson. Here they observe the 4 Torreya taxifolia seedlings that Jim planted 18 months earlier from their pots (grown from seed by Jeff Morris). The baby trees have thus survived 2 winters in this wild forest. The original big-needled leaves are seen here to be dying back, but healthy shorter needles are the growth form that this cool, shady location seems to call forth.
Importantly, once the trees are put into the ground they are not watered or sheltered or tended in any way. The aim is to determine whether the southern Appalachians offer suitable habitat for "rewilding" America's most endangered tree. Thus far, it seems that a northward, mountain climate is healthier for this historically Florida conifer. "Assisted migration" is the conservation strategy being tested here.
Visit the "What We Are Learning" page on the Torreya Guardians website for more details: torreyaguardians.org
An annotated list of all the "Video Reports" made to date can also be accessed on the Torreya Guardians website.
