Professor Quinton Cronk, the university scientist who is well-known for his involvement to the rediscovery of the St. Helena Ebony, is concluding a month-long research visit to the island.

In a recent discussion Professor Cronk spoke with Tony Leo on his visit and work on the Island’s dry land endemics as he reflected on the moment from back in the 1980s that saved one of the island’s most iconic plants.

While previous visits saw him studying the cloud forest, Professor Cronk’s current visit was to “look at the dry land plants”. He explained that after the good winter rains, he deliberately timed his visit for September to study coastal endemics like the bone seed and baby’s toes.

“Very often I’ve come to Saint Helena in the summer, when the dry lands are completely dried up, so you can’t see any plants,” he noted.

Working in collaboration with the St. Helena Government and the conservation team at Scotland, particularly propagator Vanessa Thomas Williams, his goal is to understand the plants’ biology to “conserve them effectively”. The research has already highlighted urgent threats. Professor Cronk expressed concern that the invasive wild mango is “really spreading… down to drier and drier places”. He warned that this “very vigorous invasive” outcompetes everything and could lead to a total loss of native flora in affected areas.

He is also investigating the rapid spread of the native ice plant, fearing it may be competing with the habitat for the delicate baby’s toes. On a positive note, he was pleased to see the bone seed “in a lot of different places”. During the interview, Professor Cronk, who was previously interviewed by Tony Leo in the 1980s, was asked to recount the legendary discovery of the St. Helena Ebony.

The plant was thought to be long extinct. “Nobody had seen the Ebony since back in the late 1800’s ” Professor Cronk said. By 1980, “nobody really knew what the Ebony looked like even”. Determined to find it, he and renowned local naturalist the late George Benjamin scoured the south coast cliffs. It was George who first spotted a shrub with white flowers on a “very steep cliff”. Professor Cronk, having studied illustrations of the lost plant, looked through his binoculars and confirmed the discovery: “It was clearly Ebony, there was no doubt about it”.

Their excitement was immediately met with a major obstacle. The plant was located on a “good 50-foot vertical cliff”.

“The question was,” Professor Cronk recalled, “is there anyone on the Island who is skilled enough, and brave enough, to go down?”.

George Benjamin said he knew one man: his brother, the late Charlie Benjamin.

Professor Cronk described the tense rescue. Charlie arrived and studied the cliff “like a chess player looking at a chess puzzle” for 10 minutes before finally saying, “Yes, I can do it”.

Needing both hands free to climb, Charlie tucked some cuttings into his jumper. But for one precious piece, he found another solution.

“He also put one cutting between his teeth,” Professor Cronk said. “The first thing I saw when Charlie came up over the top of the cliff was a flowering ebony sprig in his teeth. And. that’s a sight you’ll never forget because nobody had seen that sight for 150 years”.

That single, daring rescue, Professor Cronk explained, was the “catalyst” for St. Helena’s modern conservation movement, helping to “engage interest of conservation organizations in the UK”.

Today, Professor cronk is overjoyed to see the descendants of that plant thriving. He encouraged islanders to visit High Hill to “see those beautiful Ebonies… they look stunning”.

As his visit ends, Professor Cronk praised the “invaluable” ongoing conservation work, highlighting the seed banking at Scotland as a crucial “safety net” against future extinctions, like that of the St. Helena Olive.

“It helps me sleep well at night,” he said, “knowing that there is that safety net”.

You can listen to the full discussion here on the St Helena Podcast.