BY GEORGE MAIR

IT is a historic tree that has been growing in Edinburgh for more than 220 years, having been transported thousands of miles across the ocean in order to first reach these shores.

But Scotland's oldest palm tree is now facing the chop because it is too tall for its hothouse.

The historic tree will not be lost entirely, however, as horticulturists have already begun germinating seedlings from the tree for future generations.

The endangered Bermudan fan palm (Sabal Bermudana) is the oldest known plant in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's vast Living Collection, comprising more than 13,500 species from around the world.

It is thought to have been transported over 4000 miles from Bermuda to Germany before being shipped to the Port of Leith in the 1790s and planted in the RGBE's then site, off Leith Walk.

In the 1820s, the entire RBGE collection was painstakingly moved a mile across the city to its current site at Inverleith, where the palm has grown ever since.

In 1858, a new Tropical Palm House was built to accommodate it. 

In recent years, however, the top has had to be trimmed regularly to prevent it from breaking through the 50 foot high glass roof.  As a result, the tree is said to have been "losing vigour and producing less and less fruit".

Moreover, as thousands of plants are currently being moved out of the Garden's glasshouses to allow a multimillion pounds renovation project to begin, the palm is too large to be removed in one piece and plans are now in place for the tree to be dismantled.

However, it will leave an important legacy. The trunk and other parts will be used for educational purposes and seeds could even be planted in other collections as the Garden continues to play a vital role in global conservation.

Meanwhile, visitors to the RBGE will be able to watch its progeny grow for another 200 years or more.

Horticulturist Simon Allan, RBGE's palm expert, said: "Our Sabal Bermudana has been in the collection since the late 1790s so it's been here a very long time.

"When it was transplanted from Leith Walk, it was moved down the road in a special carriage which had been constructed for moving trees in an upright position.

"At one point, it grew so tall they ran out of room and had to extend the roof with the dome, but it has reached the end of its natural life."

The tree will be dismantled later this year ahead of construction work on the Edinburgh Biomes initiative designed to safeguard the global resource for future generations.

Central to the initiative is the restoration of the Garden's three iconic public glasshouses, which is expected to take up to seven years.

The roofs of the Victorian Temperate Palm House, Tropical Palm House and Modernist Front Range - comprising 27,270 panes spanning more than 12,000m2 - will be removed meaning thousands of plants must first be relocated to keep them alive.

Mr Allan added: "Once we've potted up and removed everything that we can we will take down the things that we can't transplant. The Saban Bermudana will be dismantled from the top down, but it will have a legacy. There are dozens of its own progeny all around the bottom. 

"We also have seedlings and over the years they have been put aside and grown on so we already have some larger plants as well. Some will be moved to our nursery site so we can look after them and grow them on ready for replanting after the refurbishment.

"They take a very long time to get established. It could be decades before they even form a trunk and it could be 30 or 40 years before a new plant starts to bear fruit. We won't be around to see them mature but it's a legacy - we feel a duty of responsibility to the plants and also to future generations."

Fiona Inches, Glasshouse Manager, added: "Sabal Bermudana is the oldest known plant in our Living Collections and, as far as I know, the oldest palm tree in Scotland. It was one of only two plants in our glasshouses that were brought from the Leith Walk site in 1822.

"Every plant is being removed for the Biomes work but in the case of Sabal Bermudana, it is now reaching the end of its life.

"We will capture as much data as we can, and keep as much of the plant as possible for future generations to research. We will also take samples for posterity, and we hope to do something with the trunk if possible."