Hiroshima Survivor Trees Planted in Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two saplings, descendants of ginkgo biloba trees that survived the 1945 nuclear blast over Hiroshima, were planted Friday at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

The trees were planted during a ceremony that also honored former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Dame Charlotte Mailliard Shultz for their advocacy around nuclear disarmament.

The ginkgos, also known as maidenhair trees, that were planted Friday are second-generation descendants from ginkgo trees that were charred but survived the atom bomb explosion on Hiroshima.

They are among seeds and saplings from the A-bombed trees now growing in more than 20 countries as part of the effort for a nuclear-free planet.

"For generations to come, San Francisco residents and visitors will be able to visit these trees in the Japanese Tea Garden and reflect on the importance of a nuclear-free future," mayor London Breed said.

United Religions Initiative, a global grassroots interfaith organization, held the ceremonial planting to tie into the United Nations'

International Day for Peace on Sept. 21 and the International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Sept. 26.

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