Endangered tree species gifted to Tunbridge Wells
In December to mark National Tree Week, Forestry England’s Bedgebury National Pinetum gifted a rare and endangered Vietnamese Golden Cypress to the people of Tunbridge Wells.
The tree (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis) was planted in Grosvenor & Hilbert Park by Cabinet member Rob Wormington and Jonathan Codd, Bedgebury Manager, as a lasting symbol of global tree conservation and the vital work being done to protect threatened species at Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest.
Only discovered in 1999 in the remote limestone karst peaks of northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese Golden Cypress is the most recently identified conifer genus, a distinction previously held by the Wollemi Pine.
This species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), placing it alongside some of the world’s most iconic and threatened species, including the Sumatran Tiger and Mountain Gorilla. Severe deforestation and habitat loss have left the tree confined to steep, inaccessible peaks in Vietnam, with only a handful of plants recently found across the border in China.
For 100 years, Bedgebury has been at the heart of conifer conservation, building one of the most complete collections of temperate conifers anywhere in the world. Its work ensures that species like the Vietnamese Golden Cypress, once on the brink, have a future beyond their native forests.
Councillor Rob Wormington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability said:
We are very grateful to Forestry England for this unique gift and honoured that Grosvenor and Hilbert Park has been chosen to be a small part in this important global conservation work. It marks National Tree Week in a very special way.
It is wonderful to think that as it grows this rare Cypress will establish a connection to the remote area where the tree was originally discovered and it will ensure the species’ survival.
Dan Luscombe, Curator at Forestry England - Bedgebury National Pinetum, said:
‘In its centenary year, Bedgebury Pinetum are delighted to provide this Vietnamese Golden Cypress to the people of Tunbridge Wells. This planting is more than symbolic, it’s a living link to one of the world’s rarest conifers and every tree we establish outside its native range is a safeguard against extinction.’
Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest has played a pioneering role in safeguarding this species:
- In 2008, Bedgebury staff worked in Vietnam with the Global Trees Campaign and Fauna & Flora International to support propagation and conservation.
- In 2010, Vietnamese conservationists visited Bedgebury, bringing seeds of X. vietnamensis. These were successfully germinated in the Bedgebury nursery—the first time this species had ever been grown from seed outside its native range.
- These seed-raised plants became the foundation for global conservation efforts, with cuttings taken to preserve vital genetic material.
