Winching a seed collector from a hovering helicopter was one way that was used to collect the seeds. But it was nerve-racking for scientists, who could easily imagine the reaction of the world if the helicopter crashed and one of the trees was damaged, or the whole grove was set alight. A special hot air balloon from the US is another seed collection option. It would allow scientists to float above the canopy of the rainforest, but probably will not be purchased because it also poses an unacceptable fire risk, says Professor Chambers. The real hope for mass propogation lies with the cloning technique, known as tissue culture.
Tissue culture requires only minute amounts of material - as little as a few cells.
These tiny pieces of the tree are put into test tubes with a special gel. If the scientists want the piece to grow roots, they add a special root hormone. If they want leaves or branches they add other hormones. But the hormone the scientists will be looking for the hardest will be the one that allows the piece of pine to explosively reproduce, and, if this technique can be mastered, millions of the trees could be produced annually. Offord's team will be trying to find the perfect combination of the six hormones that horticulturalists use to start this growth.