In 1895, a single specimen of an ancient tree species was first found by a botanist in what is now the Ngoye Forest Reserve in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.
Wood’s cycad (Encephalartos woodii) has yielded only a single male specimen in the wild. Botanists have removed some of the offshoots and transplanted original trunks from the lonely male in South Africa.
Today, about 500 separate plants live in botanical gardens around the world. The E. woodii reproduces via offshoots–which means the parent plant sends out shoots that turn into other adult plants.
To help the male offshoots find mates, scientists have begun launching drone flights over the inaccessible native forests. Then, using AI algorithms, scientists have been sifting through the visual imagery to try and find any similar trees. Since 2022 and 2024, thousands of images have been captured from 195 acres (79 hectares) of the 10,000-acre (4,000 hectares) Ngoye Forest in search of a female.
In season 1, we had an episode about Bees, Trees and Human Knees.
In times of trauma and stress, people, animals, and even nature somehow find a way of coming together. It’s a phenomenon that has been documented in bees and trees and even in human knees. When you’re down and almost done, it’s rally and recovery time. In 2005, during Europe’s primary club football competition, Liverpool of England was about to be mightily defeated by Milan of Italy in Istanbul, Turkey. Thousands of Liverpool fans were in the stands, despondent, and then they began singing. Just when you think it’s all over, some things change and come together.