PHT: Replacement tree at entrance will preserve heritage of gardens

The ailing 130-year-old rain tree at the entrance of Penang Botanic Gardens in a photo taken last year. It had its top branches pollarded to prevent them from falling and injuring visitors to the garden.

INSTEAD of creating a fern habitat after uprooting what is left of the 130-year-old rain tree at the entrance of Penang Botanic Gardens, botanists should replace it with a similar tree, according to Penang Heritage Trust (PHT).

While agreeing that the dead heritage tree should be removed for safety reasons, PHT felt that the fern habitat in place of the old tree would take away the historical significance of the site.