The iconic British Robin Hood tree, which was cut down by unknown people in September last year, may have a chance of a second life. The Sycamore Gap Tree became famous when it appeared in the 1991 film ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ with Kevin Costner. Good news: new life has now sprouted from the rescued seeds and twigs of England’s most beloved tree.
The British National Trust, an organization that maintains historic and natural places, has been caring for the seeds and twigs that were left behind since the dramatic incident in September. And they do this in a top secret location, somewhere in the county of Devon. They keep, among other things, a copy of the apple tree that made Isaac Newton think about gravity.
Returning the tree as it was is impossible, but the National Trust has been able to grow seeds and remaining twigs into 45 seedlings, small stumps with chlorophyll on them. They did this by using a special technique, ‘grafting’. However, it will take another three years before they can say with certainty whether the tree’s offspring are healthy. If that is the case, they can grow into full-fledged trees (although it will take another twenty years before they reach maturity).
At the end of September, the plane tree was cut down by unknown people. The tree stood lonely between two hills, right next to the wall that was built under the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century AD. According to the National Trust, the tree was almost two hundred years old. The police have been looking for the vandals since September. Two men, in their thirties, are free on bail.
LOOK. Drone footage shows the felled tree
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