A DESCENDANT of a mulberry tree planted by George Bernard Shaw in Priory Park could return to Malvern.

The original tree, planted by the famous playwright in July 1936 to mark his 80th birthday, was uprooted by gales several years ago.

But in 1959, a young tree grown from a cutting off Shaw's tree was sent to Australia's Malvern, a suburb of the city of Melbourne.

Although the tree was initially in a poor state, it has since thrived in the antipodean climate, and now stands 13 metres tall in a public garden, providing welcome shade for residents.

Dr Bruce Osborne, of Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells, discovered that the tree was flourishing, and hatched a plan to bring the mulberry back to Malvern.

Cuttings have now been taken from the tree, and are being cultivated in a nursery in Australia. And Dr Osborne hopes these cuttings can be brought to England this year and replanted in Malvern.

"The first step is to get the cuttings sent to us here, getting it through quarantine and so on, but we hope they can be sent in the next couple of months," he said.

"Then we have to think about where we should plant them. Should it be in Priory Park where the original was, or perhaps in Rosebank Gardens, which is due to be renovated, or next to one of the springs around the hills?"

Cora Weaver of Friends of Malvern Springs and Wells said: "Priory Park is the obvious place to plant one of the cuttings, but these days there are worries about vandalism that weren't around in the old days, so we'd love to hear from anyone with ideas about where they should be planted.

"Shaw died in 1950, so next year is the 60th anniversary of his death. It would be nice if we could mark that anniversary by planting a descendent of his original mulberry tree in Malvern."

George Bernard Shaw, author of Pygmalion and other famous plays, had a long-standing connection with Malvern through the Malvern Festival, where many of his plays were produced.