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Central Park Beech Trees To Be Cloned

January 11, 2008

As part of the Mayor's plan to plant the cloned trees  around the five boroughs, thus populating the city with replicas of its most iconic arboreal inhabitants.  The beech will be the first of nine species of trees to be duplicated in the coming week. The cuttings from the city's trees - some more than a century old - will be flown to a nursery in Oregon, where they will be grown into cloned saplings, said the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

David McMaster, a Bartlett Tree Experts vice president, said the cloning would target several "Olmsted trees," dating from the creation of Central Park by famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 1850s.

"Our intention here is to go after significant trees that we know Olmsted planted over 150 years ago," he said. These include a shingle oak and a willow oak, as well as the aforementioned beeches.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benape said being less than beautiful had no bearing on the European beech tree's potential contribution to a greener Gotham.

"Like the other trees to be cloned, it has withstood the test of time and the indignities of urban life," he said. "These trees as a result tend to be hardier species, inherently disease resistant. They are a great reaffirmation of the importance of nature in New York City — trees so good that people are looking to clone them."

 

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