that need a mate,
all images University of Southampton, we first mentioned Encephalartos woodii, back in 2015, we also made an update in July 2020, it is a cycad which are a very old order of tree and it turns out this one, which is still there in London, may be the very last tree of its kind on our planet and this is why, these trees cannot fertilise themselves, some plants contain male and female parts on the same individual, well the sad news is that a mate has still not been found, but here is exciting news AI is now being employed!
Dr Laura Cinti, research fellow at the University of
Southampton, is leading the first project to use drones and AI to search for a
female E. woodii, She said: “I was very inspired by the story of the E. woodii,
it mirrors a classic tale of unrequited love, "I’m hopeful there is a
female out there somewhere, after all there must have been at one time. It
would be amazing to bring this plant so close to extinction back through
natural reproduction.” Drone imaging of the forest is being analysed by AI -
with less than 2% of the 10,000 acre area having been covered so far, the only known E. woodii was discovered in the Ngoye Forest in 1895, many botanical gardens do have clones as they can be made from this one plant, but only male clones, researchers have wandered the Ngoya forest and other woods of Africa, looking for an E. woodii that could pair with the one in London, they haven't found a single other specimen, so unless a female exists somewhere, E. woodii will never mate with one of its own, the one and only last of it's kind, you can read more about the lonesome palm in Oliver Sacks book, The Island of the Colorblind, here's hoping for success!
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