St. Helena
Near Lot's Wife, St. Helena
St. Helena is similar in origins and geology to Ascension, and has suffered similar losses to its original vegetation. In particular, the original forest cover has been lost to goats, 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)
Several of the rarest endemics were already held by the Millennium Seed Bank, and as a result of work with the Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of the St. Helena Government (Nov 2004) six more have been collected and safely conserved. These include the Black Cabbage ( Melanodendron integrifolium) and the St. Helena Ebony (Trochetiopsis ebenus).
The trip was also filmed by the BBC for the second series of 'A Year at Kew.'