Want to adopt a tree? Fifteen ancient trees in the city are waiting for you. This is the first time the city has allowed residents to adopt ancient trees, the local greenery bureau said yesterday.

It costs 3,000 yuan (US$428) to adopt an ancient tree for a year. The trees include two peony trees in the Guyi Garden in Jiading District, and an ancient wisteria, said the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Administrative Bureau.

"The scheme will promote the idea of protecting ancient plants," said Liu Weiguang, an official with the bureau.

People can also adopt from some 1.6 million common trees, 80 flower beds and rooftop greenery covering 100,000 square meters. The scheme is to mark Chinese Arbor Day on March 12.

Adopting a common tree costs 150 yuan a year, while a flower bed covering 150 square meters costs 50 yuan, said the bureau.

Residents can register at the bureau's Website lhsr.sh.gov.cn, which is in Chinese.

Residents who adopt a tree will get a certificate, or their names will be displayed on a board beside the tree.

(Shanghai Daily March 5, 2009)