Scientific American – How Do You Save an Endangered Tree from Extinction – When You Can’t Save Its Seeds? “Recalcitrant” seeds hold the secret to saving a critically endangered Indian tree—thanks to a bit of human help. A team of Indian conservationists working to save a critically endangered tree from extinction just achieved an important conservation success, but first they had three major stumbling blocks to overcome. The first was, of course, numbers. The trees, known only as Madhuca insignis, are few and far between. Originally declared extinct more than a century ago, the 60-foot-tall, fruiting species was rediscovered in 2004. A year later it was added to India’s national priority list of endangered trees, but few if any actual protection efforts followed. By the time conservationists finally conducted the first major survey of the trees’ population—a three-year process between 2013 and 2015—only 27 individuals remained…”