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Bradley White

Sheridan Waitai waters a kaikōmako sapling, one of 80 planted by her and other members of Ngāti Kuri, the local Māori responsible for guardianship of the island where the only wild tree lives. Ngāti Kuri continue working with scientists to understand the species and develop recovery plans for it.

Only a single wild kaikōmako, Pennantia baylisiana, existed before scientist Ross Beever coaxed a tree grown from a cutting of the original into full reproduction.

A 1969 review of the conservation status of New Zealand’s offshore islands concluded that the sole kaikōmako growing on Manawatāwhi was “certain to become extinct.” That fate changed when scientist Ross Beever and nursery owner Geoff Davidson raised six trees that produced thousands of seeds like this one, seen under magnification.