Only 149 trees of a wild apple species found alive

Niedzwetzky's apple, a relative of the ancestor of supermarket varieties, faces extinction as less than 150 trees have been found in its native land. Niedzwetzky's apple ( Malus niedzwetzkyana ) shares its home in Central Asia with the iconic snow leopard, but a new study shows the tree is far more endangered than the big cat, and faces extinction if immediate action is not taken. Only five to ten percent of the original forest area that contains Niedzwetzky's apple remains, and this is heavily threatened by livestock grazing and local firewood collection. Brett Wilson The apple is native to the foothills of the Tian-Shan mountain range in Central Asia, with the largest remaining populations in Kyrgyzstan. However, when Imperial College London researcher Brett Wilson trekked the hills in search of mature trees, he only found 149 surviving individuals. In a paper published today in the journal Oryx , alongside his collaborators from Kew Gardens and Fauna & Flora International, Brett calls the conservation of the species and its native forest ecosystem "critical and urgent". He said: "Only five to ten percent of the original forest area that contains Niedzwetzky's apple remains, and this is heavily threatened by livestock grazing and local firewood collection.