WOODSTOCK, N.B. -- A conservation group is purchasing a plot of forested land in western New Brunswick to protect rare species of trees and plants.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada says the 17-hectare property west of Woodstock has belonged to the same family for 150 years.

The trees there, remnants of Appalachian Hardwood Forest, include white ash, basswood, ironwood and endangered butternut.

The group describes the forest on the east bank of the Meduxnekeag River as an ecologically strategic area.

Just one per cent of this original forest type remains in New Brunswick -- almost half of it near the river.

The plot is also home to 30 provincially rare plant species, including yellow lady's slipper, northern maidenhair fern and wild ginger.