By Rachel Candlin, BBC News
A population survey of the world's rarest maple tree offers hope for the endangered species, a conservationist has said.
Dan Crowley, tree conservation manager at Westonbirt Arboretum in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, was part of a team of researchers surveying the Amami maple on an island in southern Japan.
Their research found only 12 mature Amami maples in the wild but the discovery of three female specimens could help ensure the species' reproductive future.
"While we were pleased to find that the wild status... is better than we feared, the species is still very much on the edge," said Mr Crowley.
The team, which included experts from the University of British Columbia and Osaka University, took part in the first comprehensive survey of the world's rarest maple on the island Amami-Oshihma.
They said they were encouraged by the presence of females and seedlings, but added that the species' population was still "dangerously small".
"Our fear was that there were no females in the population, but five of the trees were flowering and three of them were female, so although it's not great, it's better than we thought," said Mr Crowley.
