The Franklin tree or lost camellia tree (Franklinia alatamaha) is an unusually attractive tree, once native only to Georgia. Today, this tree is extinct in the wild, but is still
Treasured as one of the most beautiful and mysterious native plants in America, the Franklinia tree was almost lost to extinction were it not for the efforts of John and William Bartram. John Bartram was an extraordinary, self-taught naturalist who was appointed by Englandâs King George III as Botanist for the North American colonies in 1765. William Bartram was John Bartramâs third son, and he would become Americaâs first native-born natural history artist.
This father and son pair explored widely throughout the American colonies to collect and preserve botanical specimens, seeds, and living plants as well as to propagate them in order to share specimens with colleagues. They explored regions from Charleston, South Carolina to Georgiaâs shorelines and well into Florida. Much of their efforts focused along river banks and drainage land. In the fall of 1765, during one of their collection trips near the mouth of the Alatamaha River, south of Savannah, GA, John and
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By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. The Altamaha-ha creature earns legendary status Bulloch History Roger Allen Note: The following is one of a series of columns looking at the origins and growth of the agriculture industry in Southeast Georgia and Bulloch County.
Jason Frye’s book, entitled “Southern Myths, the South’s Own Loch Ness Monster” (2018), recounts the tale of Jacques Le Moyne the first European artist in North America. “He was (off) the Georgia-Florida coast in the mid-1500s, (when) these monsters show up again and again.” Taylor Brown’s article about the Altamaha River, was published in Garden and Guns (Feb/March 2018).