GAUTRAIN SAVES A YELLOWWOOD

Gautrain construction activities were held back for an hour or two in order to save a precious yellowwood tree near Rosebank. The yellowwood is also known as South Africa’s national tree.

A real yellowwood is a primeval to Africa as it has been growing here for more than 100 million years. It is unusual to find a yellowwood in Johannesburg as they are more likely to be growing in the forests of the southern and eastern Cape coast and along the ravines of the Drakensberg up to the Soutpansberg and the Blouberg in Limpopo.

During Gautrain’s initial environmental impact assessment, botanists noticed the yellowwood at the planned construction site for Emergency Shaft 3 in Riviera. The tree was subsequently listed it as a protected, indigenous species in Gautrain’s Environmental Management Plan in order to assure its safeguarding.

In November last year, specialists were called in to carefully remove the yellowwood and transplant it to the Botanical Gardens at The Wilds. The yellowwood was estimated to be around 10 years old, but soil conditions were poor at its original location which stunted its growth. Environmental engineers say that the tree has adjusted very well in its new environment where the soil is more suited for this beautiful, national symbol.

In forests, a yellowwood can grow up to 40 metres in height. The base of the trunk can measure up to three metres in diameter. A yellowwood is one of the country’s most valued timber trees and in the past they were ruthlessly cut down for the manufacturing of furniture.