A huge forest of rare camphor trees discovered in Indonesia

A forest of rare camphor trees has been discovered on the island of Sumatra (Indonesia).

Researchers have uncovered an area of ​​600 hectares populated by trees between 200 and 300 years old, reports the local media

relayed by

.

This find is very exciting for scientists and even historians.

"The discovery of this forest is a treasure for world heritage," Ichwan Azhari, an Indonesian historian, told

.

“It's like discovering the ruins of an ancient civilization, but still alive.

»

A very vulnerable tree species

Dryobalanops

is a very rare species of camphor tree that researchers thought was extinct in nature.

They were even going to give up their research when they made the exceptional discovery.

The tree in question also produces Barus camphor, a precious aromatic substance known since antiquity for its antiseptic properties.

The team of researchers from the University of Medan (Indonesia) had focused its research since 2016 on the side of the village of Siordang, nicknamed “the last refuge of camphor trees”.

Indeed, there would remain twenty

in this place, cultivated by the local peasants and studied with curiosity by the botanists of passage.

These camphors are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The discovery of this 600-hectare forest therefore opens up new perspectives.

According to

, it is set to become “a camphor research center as well as a plant archeology and eco-responsible tourism site”.

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