Hiroshima A-bombed tree seeds germinate in Gloucestershire

Seeds from a 200-year-old ginkgo tree - growing 4,265ft (1,300m) from "ground zero" in 1945 - were sent to Batsford Arboretum

Seeds from a tree that survived the bombing of Hirsohima have germinated at a Gloucestershire botanical garden.

Batsford Arboretum were sent seeds from a 200-year-old ginkgo growing 4,265ft (1,300m) from the 1945 atomic blast in Japan by Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH).

GLH manages 170 "survivor trees" and helps grow them around the world.

Head gardener, Matthew Hall, said: "I put them in the fridge at work and a few people were worried," but they "look fresh, young and just beautiful".

'Expect some mutations'

He was sent 23 seeds from a gingko tree, which was growing in the Shukkeien Garden when the uranium bomb exploded 70 years ago.

Almost all the garden's giant trees were burnt except for a 17m (55ft) tall gingko which toppled but survived.

Mr Hall was sent the seeds in May and "18 of them were shooting and I'm hopeful that a few more will come through".

"As a plants man, you never know what you're going to get and you expect some mutations but these trees look no different from any other."

The saplings are due to be planted within the arboretum in Moreton-in-Marsh by spring 2017.