St. Helena
Near Lot's Wife, St. Helena (Photo: S Alton)
Though much older, St. Helena is geologically similar to Ascension, and has suffered similar losses to its original vegetation. In particular, the original forest cover has been lost to centuries of goat grazing, with the remaining semi-natural vegetation confined to the central mountain peak. Of the 320 or so native plant species, a remarkable 80% are endemic, and many of these are reduced to very small populations.
St. Helena Ebony - (Trochetiopsis ebenus) (Photo: S Alton)
Several of the rarest endemics are already held by the Millennium Seed Bank, and as a result of work with the Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of the St. Helena Government in 2004 six more have been collected and safely conserved. These include the Black Cabbage (Melanodendron integrifolium) and the St. Helena Ebony (Trochetiopsis ebenus). There are plans to make further collections of threatened species in 2009.