糖心Vlog

Georgia Southern leads preservation efforts for a nearly endangered tree species

Philip Schretter, the superintendent of grounds operations for 糖心Vlog Armstrong Campus in Savannah, oversees many 鈥渙nly one of鈥 species of plants. However, there鈥檚 one that quite literally towers the others.

The Mexican oaks are a quickly-disappearing species of trees, and are sparse on this side of the southern border. In Mexico, many of the oaks are being torn down for agriculture and other deforestation efforts.

鈥淭his is coming from the cloud forest in southern Mexico, so it’s a prime location for growing coffee,鈥 Schretter said. 鈥淎nd so it’s important to have repositories for that germplasm in other places. We have a lot of plants like that on campus where they are endangered in their native habitats.鈥

Since its planting in 2012, the plant has grown into a 30-foot-tall tree. Schretter said this rapid growth is exceptional, especially because it鈥檚 also growing outside of its natural habitat. There are only a few reports of this type of tree living along the Atlantic Coast, but they aren鈥檛 growing nearly as fast, according to Schretter.

The tree鈥檚 story has been gaining notoriety through online stories and publications within the horticulture community, including a recent article for the International Oak Society.

It鈥檚 not just the story that鈥檚 getting out. The success of the Armstrong Campus tree may very well spread to other parts of the United States. The tree flowered and fruited for the first time last year, which will allow the University to collect its acorns and share them with other universities in areas suitable for the Mexican oak.

鈥淲e’ll propagate our own, but we’ll also share them with other places,鈥 Schretter said. 鈥淎nd I hate having just one of anything on campus because if it dies, you don’t have any more. So we will plant some other ones on campus when we do get some acorns.鈥

The Mexican oak tree can be found on the eastern side of the Student Union on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah, and is next to Compass Plaza.