A Eucalyptus tree at the Royal Botanic Gardens which was planted in 1910 was torched vandals on Friday.

The Friends of Botanic Gardens of Trinidad and Tobago shared an image (as seen above) of the damage on their Facebook page on Saturday morning. 

The NGO said the act had been carried out by “young vandals”.

“Eucalyptus tereticornis” which is the scientific name for the species, is a fast-growing, evergreen tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its leaves are also known to produce a volatile highly combustible oil, which may have contributed to the effectiveness of the arson attack.