THE Euphobia Alata, a plant many horticulturists thought to be extinct for 105 years, was found in the precipitous terrain of the Cockpit Country here in Jamaica recently.

The Cockpit Country, which some years ago was at the centre of a mining controversy between the then government and opposition, is a large tract of forests spread across parts of Trelawny and St Elizabeth.

Dowen Grant, forester/dendrologist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, told the Observer at the official opening of the Forestry Department’s 7th Annual Exposition yesterday, at the department’ Constant Spring Road, Kingston, offices, that the plant – which is endemic to Jamaica – was discovered in July during an expedition by a team of scientists from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden of which he was apart.

He said an additional 77 plants were found during a subsequent search of Barrett Hut, also in the Cockpit Country.

The plant, Grant said, has horticultural potential. He said the first plant has so far been transplanted at the Shortwood Teachers College’s Endemic Plant Garden.

“In its natural habitat it’s growing out of rocks, that medium is alkali. I had to try and duplicate its natural habitat by modifying Shortwood Teachers College’s acidic soil content by using marl and pounded chalk in order to get it growing. It is presently more beautiful than those left in the Cockpit Country,” Grant told the Observer yesterday.

Meanwhile, Paul Seaton, chairman of the Forestry Advisory Board who brought greetings on behalf of Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, yesterday reminded guests that the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors recorded the highest levels of growth – 10 per cent – for the third quarter of this year.

As such, he suggested that owners of underutilised lands to consider planting Christmas trees, or other hardwood trees such as cedar and mahogany which, he believes, could yield long-term benefits.

“Mahogany is a good investment, if not for those who are responsible for the initial planting; surely it will benefit the next generation. In addition to the financial returns from investing in forestry, there are also other benefits to taking care of the forest environment,” Seaton said.