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Bonsai Conservatory
Preserve endangered trees through ancient Japanese art
  (+16)(+16)
(+16) 		  [vote for,
against]


Frozen zoos preserve the dna of endangered and extinct species in hopes of later recreating them and reintroducing them into the environment. But who wants to go to a zoo full of test tubes in a freezer?

A much more elegant solution, for woody plants, would be to create a bonsai conservatory for endangered trees. Bonsai masters would be hired to take seeds and cuttings from endangered trees in order to recreate them in minature. The smaller sized trees would take up far less space and resources than their full sized wild siblings and preserve their dna for centuries. The bonsai would have the added bonus of being sexually mature and producing seeds that were capable of growing into full sized tree, making reintroduction easier. Lastly, the bonsai conservatory would be a wonderful tourist attraction, perhaps even funding itself through ticket sales.
Erfunden, Dec 09 2005


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       Anything with "bonsai" gets my vote!
DesertFox, Dec 09 2005
   

       Mine, too.
reensure, Dec 09 2005
   

       Brazil's entire remaining rain forest relocated to a series of pinheads to make space for a McDonalds super ranch. "New GM super cows will be the size of buses and will feed the world" quoted a McDonalds speaker; "And our new forty pounder burgers will each come with a free piece of rainforest in a jar to nurture - we all have to do our bit to preserve the planet"
xenzag, Dec 10 2005
   

       Welcome to the HB. Great idea.
shapu, Dec 10 2005
   

       Smaller prairies need smaller cows to graze them. Small cows mean less grease. Less grease means you need more palm oil. I don't see any way out.
reensure, Dec 10 2005
   

       You'll need miniature monkeys for the banana trees.
Madcat, Dec 11 2005
   

       Do bonsai trees produce full-size flowers that can be pollinated, and produce full size seeds that can produce full size trees again?
Minimal, Dec 12 2005
   

       //Do bonsai trees produce full-size flowers that can be pollinated// Good point [minimal] - we'll need bonsai bees too.
coprocephalous, Dec 12 2005
   

       Yeah, but who's gonna volunteer to be the one to trim them down to size?
shapu, Dec 12 2005
   

       Yes, [minimal], the flowers and fruit on bonsai are full size and fully mature. Unless the bonsai is made out of a genitically dwarfed or fruitless specimin.
Erfunden, Dec 12 2005
   

       Some species, especially the deciduous ones, are very difficult, if not impossible, to get to set seed when in pots. Liquidambars, Celtis and Maples are the species that spring to mind.   

       Flowers and fruit are full sized, it's only the leaves that can be reduced in size, usually.   

       I like the idea though.   

       We would have to do something a little different for those species that don't bud back on old wood. Bonsai is possible only on those species that can be forced to bud back, or they end up looking really scruffy.
UnaBubba, Dec 12 2005
   

       I tried to do a bonsai redwood, once...here in San Diego. It did not work out...
normzone, Dec 12 2005
   

       And they charged all the people A dollar and a half just to see 'em   


 
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