What a wonderful treasure of a documentary! It‘s not only the beauty of some of the most remote areas and the wildlife, it‘s the presentation, the respect and enthusiasm for the nature.
The Saint Helena Ebony, Trochetiopsis ebenus, was barely saved from extinction in the 1980’s. In past times it was found only on the island as a common small tree often dominant in the forest. It was thought to have gone extinct in the 1800’s, extirpated by human activities and introduced animals. In 1980 two small plants were found high on the side of a seaside cliff, away from grazing animals. Cuttings were taken and propagated at the Cambridge Botanical Garden. These two remaining plants were eco types. They mature as small shrubs and never become upright trees. So it seems that the tree form is lost for good. T. ebenus has been cross bred with T. erythroxylon to make T. x benjamini. I fortuitously came across a 1 gallon pot of T. ebenus in my local nursery in southern California. It’s unusual morphology attracted my attention, though I previously had no knowledge of this species. It’s been growing happily in a pot for two years now. It’s a marvelous ornamental.
Thank you very much for this absolutely beautiful documentation. It always makes me happy to hear you speak with such enthusiasm. It is interesting and fascinating how you make me sitting in front of a monitor, feel like I am a part of the expedition. Especially when you talk about nepenthes in their natural habitats. Stay safe Mr. McPherson and merry Christmas.
Watching this makes me so so sad, my grandparents were from the British Indian Ocean territory(chagos archipelago). They were deported from their Natives land. I wish that they were deported to England instead of Mauritius where they have constantly been horribly discriminated by the Mauritian government. Being exiled in Mauritius they have always been put aside, having no rights and living in poverty. We are the new generation, we are still facing a lot of difficulties and our families are divided. It's time that the UK recognized us as British overseas territories citizens, so that we can live in the UK and be reunited with some of our families. Dear majesty hear us, help us. We should have the right to visit the British Indian Ocean territory as well where our ancestors came from. They have constantly been talking about their lands, how peaceful and beautiful their lives use to be when they were living on the British Indian Ocean territory(chagos archipelago) but Mauritius was hell. I'm the new generation we did not ask to be born In Mauritius. We are recognizing our flag 🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬🇩🇬 Please recognize us, we want to be listen, to exist
"The Beautiful Coral Islands" of the British Indian Ocean Territory" - perhaps it could be time to let the people of those beautiful islands experience that beauty again?
