Identifying and safeguarding 200-year-old trees

Avalon Golf Estate

Mauritius

Written by: Greg Duffy

An ancient and extremely rare tree has been identified on Avalon Estate. It is currently among only five others on the island and is estimated to be more than 200 years old. Its botanical name is Pisonia Lanceolata and was identified by Jean-Claude Sevithian of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation during a site visit in 2017. We have confirmed the authenticity of the Pisonia through our Landscape Architect and Botanist Mr Patrick Watson who is very excited. These species of trees are endemic only to Mauritius and Reunion.

The Pisonia also goes by the common names of Bois Mapou, Bois Jolie Coeur and Bois Carotte. The leaves can also be used as a potent depurative (detoxifier) and astringent (healing for wounds). As the Pisonia is considered extremely vulnerable, in-situ conservation efforts are taking place on all sites in both Mauritius and Reunion. Other trees worth mentioning on-site are Polyscias mauritiana of which we have two on the premises also more than a century old.

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