A scent of hope floats around the Wright’s Gardenia (Rothmannia annae)/Bwa Sitron in Creole, a critically endangered fragrant tree from the Seychelles

Photo courtesy of geo.fr.

Excerpt translated from French (geo.fr).

A team of employees and volunteers from the NGO Island Conservation Society spent days traversing the rugged terrain of Aride Island, in the northern Seychelles archipelago.

The purpose of their search? The Wright’s Gardenia (Rothmannia annae) or Bwa Sitron in Creole in Seychellois Creole— a tree from the coffee family that is now found only within this small 72-hectare territory.

The association’s members recorded approximately 2,913 specimens—1,000 more than during the previous count in 2017, according to The Guardian.

Some of the trees identified by the team were also surrounded by more than a thousand young seedlings, indicating that the species, with its white flowers speckled with magenta, is now “thriving on the island,” as reported.