A Michigan Tech faculty member has taken 150 very special trees back to the country of their ancestors.
Karnosky, professor of forestry at Michigan Technological University, has cloned the trees from a magnificent Chinese elm that grew for more than 100 years in New York's Central Park. His work has been supported by the Arthur Ross Foundation in an unusual 25-year commitment to the development and testing of the tree, known as 'Central Park Splendor'.
This species of elm is native to China, but local legend has it that the New York tree was presented to the city in the 1870s by the King of Prussia (now a part of Germany). It survived until 1993, when the hollow giant was taken down as a hazard to park visitors.
Fortunately, Karnosky had already preserved the 60-foot tree's heritage by propagating hundreds of identical Chinese elms from the parent tree's leaf tissue while he worked at the New York Botanical Garden's Cary Arboretum. He gave 150 of the tree's descendants to Beijing Forestry University, Nanjing Forestry University and Gui Zhou province. The researchers will continue to test, grow and propagate the elm throughout China.
Because China bans the importation of elms to protect native trees against Dutch elm disease, the clones were grown in sterile, tissue culture conditions. In addition, the clones are totally resistant to the disease, which has killed most elms in the U.S. (American elms, which are different species, are quite susceptible to Dutch elm disease.)
This elm variety, patented as 'A/Ross Central Park', has other exceptional qualities. It is unusually cold tolerant, easily withstanding winters in climate zone 6 (which has minimum temperatures of about -28 degrees C. or -10 degrees F.). It is larger than typical Chinese elms, pest free, and very hardy in urban environments.
"We are honored to be returning these lovely and extraordinary trees to their home," Karnosky said. "And we are grateful to our hosts at Beijing Forestry University, Nanjing Forestry University and Gui Zhou province for making it possible. Finally, we are deeply indebted to the Arthur Ross Foundation for their unwavering long-term devotion to this unique tree and for their support of this project."
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