THERE is a buzz of oriental excitement around Batsford Arboretum after seeds taken from trees which survived the Hiroshima nuclear bomb in 1945 have sprouted.

The arboretum, near Moreton, took delivery of seeds from a Ginkgo Biloba tree and an Ilex Rotunda (round leaved holly) in May and the Ginkgo seeds were sown in June.

The seeds were sent from Green Legacy Hiroshima, an initiative set up to safeguard the surviving trees - known as A-bombed trees - following a request from Batsford’s head gardener Matthew Hall.

Despite the devastation caused by the bombing, new seedlings started to sprout across the desolate landscape and the A-bombed trees continued showing signs of life. Green Legacy Hiroshima, which was founded in 2011, now oversees the safeguarding of around 170 trees across 55 locations all set within a two kilometre radius of the atomic bomb hypocentre.

Each of the trees are cared for by various authorities, botanists and various citizens’ groups and individuals and are all labelled with ‘Hibakujumoku’ meaning ‘survivor tree’.

Batsford Arboretum is one of many botanical gardens, schools, embassies, institutions and other symbolic sites across 25 countries to have received the seeds.

Mr Hall said: “I read an article about the project in an Royal Horticultural Society publication. I thought it would be an honour to grow seeds from an A-bombed tree, so that Batsford could be part of the Green Legacy Hiroshima initiative.”

Although the Ilex Rotunda seeds are yet to be sown, the Ginkgo seeds from the 200-year-old tree in Hiroshima are already strong saplings and it is hoped there will be around 18 young trees out by spring 2017 within the grounds of the arboretum.