Scientists in race to save rare endangered tree with special freezing technique

The shoot tips are treated with a special solution and then frozen in liquid nitrogen

Have you ever heard of cryopreservation?

It's a scientific process which involves keeping cells, organs or tissues at super low temperatures in order to preserve them for a long time.

The aim is for the frozen cells to be kept in a way that enables them to be used in the future.

Cryonics, which is a type of cryopreservation involving the freezing of human bodies, is something only seen in movies.

But, scientists are now finding success with cryopreservation in the plant world.

Cryopreservation involves storing cells at freezing temperatures

Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia have been using cryopreservation techniques to freeze the shoot tips of a very rare tree - the angle-stemmed myrtle, also known as Gossia gonoclada.

The tree, found in South East Queensland, is currently classed as an endangered species, with only 380 left in the wild.

The angle-stemmed myrtle, known for its glossy vibrant green leaves, currently faces a number of threats to its numbers, including infection by a fungal disease called Myrtle rust, competition from invasive weeds, and changes to its habitat linked to climate change.

Researchers say preserving healthy shoot tips from the plant could enable it to be brought back if it were to go extinct in the future.

There are only 380 angle-stemmed myrtle trees left in the wild

So how exactly does the process work?

The shoot tips, which are the part of the plant where new leaves grow, are treated with a special solution and then frozen in liquid nitrogen at temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees.

It's a method that has already worked for another species called the sweet myrtle.

Researchers were able to successfully regrow sweet myrtle plants from shoot tips they had frozen.

Part of the plant is taken to be preserved

The scientists working on the project hope cryopreservation techniques can be used to help protect other endangered plant species in the future.

Jingyin Bao, who is a doctoral student researching the conservation of plant species like the angle-stemmed myrtle, told Newsround: "Every rare plant we protect makes nature stronger.

"By saving one special tree, we learn new ways to look after many other plants, animals and forests around the world."