Save Plants
May 2020 Newsletter
Dig In, Sign Up, Save Plants
We join colleagues around the world in celebration of the 15th annual Endangered Species Day, a day set aside to learn about endangered species and how to protect them. This month’s Save Plants pays tribute to life forms that are critical living partners of endangered plants that are often unseen, but directly or indirectly support healthy plants and a healthy planet. From diverse lichens that are soil creators and sensitive indicators of environmental change to soil crusts that allow plants to survive harsh droughts, we take a moment to appreciate the small entities that play a large role in our world. Like the rare native plants in the CPC National Collection, these small life forms benefit from heroes, who dedicate time to study their complex ecology or document and publish guides showcasing their diversity.
Background photo: Leptogium corticola is one of many lichens formed by fungi and cyanobacteria. Such species are particularly sensitive to disturbance and pollution and many of them have declined substantially during the last century. Photo credit: James Lendemer, courtesy of New York Botanical Garden.
May 2020 Newsletter
Dig In, Sign Up, Save Plants
We join colleagues around the world in celebration of the 15th annual Endangered Species Day, a day set aside to learn about endangered species and how to protect them. This month’s Save Plants pays tribute to life forms that are critical living partners of endangered plants that are often unseen, but directly or indirectly support healthy plants and a healthy planet. From diverse lichens that are soil creators and sensitive indicators of environmental change to soil crusts that allow plants to survive harsh droughts, we take a moment to appreciate the small entities that play a large role in our world. Like the rare native plants in the CPC National Collection, these small life forms benefit from heroes, who dedicate time to study their complex ecology or document and publish guides showcasing their diversity.
Learn more in this month’s Save Plants.
Sign Up for monthly informative and comprehensive news from our PIs on the science of saving plants delivered straight to your email. Don’t miss another update!
2020 Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting
Dear CPC Colleagues,
After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the CPC National Meeting until October 8-9, 2020. We are especially grateful to Denver Botanic Gardens, who have agreed to be our host as was planned for May and are accommodating this change. We are awaiting word from the National Seed Lab (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, but anticipate that we will have a pre-conference field trip on October 7 to NLGRP.
If you have already registered and plan to attend the October meeting, you don’t need to take action. If you registered, but need a refund, please contact Jackie Tondreau (jtondreau@saveplants.org) and we will arrange to refund your money.
Our understanding is that airlines are being very reasonable to accommodate changes. We suggest contacting carriers and discussing the situation.
We are currently working with the hotel in Denver to shift the reserved rooms from May to October. It may be possible for reservations to shift, but please stay tuned for an update about that.
We will announce new deadlines for abstracts and new deadlines for registration as soon as we have worked out details.
Thank you for your understanding about this change in plans. Your health and safety is our highest priority. We hope to see you in Denver in October. Hey, maybe the aspens will be turning!
Best regards,
Joyce and the CPC National Office Team
CPC Rare Plant Academy
CPC Rare Plant Academy is a hub of learning, sharing, and discovery for the plant conservation community. CPC Rare Plant Academy brings the Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices to life by integrating instructional videos and community discourse with web-based interactive guidelines for plant conservation methods. This platform seeks to answer plant conservation’s most challenging “how to’s” by capturing the knowledge of Center for Plant Conservation’s network of expert botanists in modern, learning-friendly formats. As such, CPC Rare Plant Academy will be a training ground for the next generation of plant conservation scientists, who will be the first line of defense against plant extinction.
The Center for Plant Conservation is pleased to announce the publication of CPC Best Plant Conservation Practices to Support Species Survival in the Wild. For the first time we have consolidated our guidelines to cover plant conservation practice from soup to nuts. We urge practitioners to review the new guidelines that reflect updated knowledge about best scientific practice.
2020 Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting
Dear CPC Colleagues,
After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the CPC National Meeting until October 8-9, 2020. We are especially grateful to Denver Botanic Gardens, who have agreed to be our host as was planned for May and are accommodating this change. We are awaiting word from the National Seed Lab (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, but anticipate that we will have a pre-conference field trip on October 7 to NLGRP.
If you have already registered and plan to attend the October meeting, you don’t need to take action. If you registered, but need a refund, please contact Jackie Tondreau (jtondreau@saveplants.org) and we will arrange to refund your money.
Our understanding is that airlines are being very reasonable to accommodate changes. We suggest contacting carriers and discussing the situation.
We are currently working with the hotel in Denver to shift the reserved rooms from May to October. It may be possible for reservations to shift, but please stay tuned for an update about that.
We will announce new deadlines for abstracts and new deadlines for registration as soon as we have worked out details.
Thank you for your understanding about this change in plans. Your health and safety is our highest priority. We hope to see you in Denver in October. Hey, maybe the aspens will be turning!
Best regards,
Joyce and the CPC National Office Team
CPC Rare Plant Academy
CPC Rare Plant Academy is a hub of learning, sharing, and discovery for the plant conservation community. CPC Rare Plant Academy brings the Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices to life by integrating instructional videos and community discourse with web-based interactive guidelines for plant conservation methods. This platform seeks to answer plant conservation’s most challenging “how to’s” by capturing the knowledge of Center for Plant Conservation’s network of expert botanists in modern, learning-friendly formats. As such, CPC Rare Plant Academy will be a training ground for the next generation of plant conservation scientists, who will be the first line of defense against plant extinction.
The Center for Plant Conservation is pleased to announce the publication of CPC Best Plant Conservation Practices to Support Species Survival in the Wild. For the first time we have consolidated our guidelines to cover plant conservation practice from soup to nuts. We urge practitioners to review the new guidelines that reflect updated knowledge about best scientific practice.
News from our Save Plants Digest
May 2020 News
This month’s Save Plants pays tribute to life forms that are critical living partners of endangered plants that are often unseen, but directly or indirectly support healthy plants and a healthy planet. From diverse lichens that are soil creators and sensitive indicators of environmental change to soil crusts that allow plants to survive harsh droughts, we take a moment to appreciate the small entities that play a large role in our world.
Cones and Clones to Save Florida Torreya
Two hundred years ago, the limestone bluffs and ravines of the Apalachicola River in Georgia and the Florida panhandle were dotted with impressive 30- to 60-foot tall Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia). The yew-like trees were abundant enough to support harvest, with the light but durable yellow wood transformed into fence posts, shingles, planks, and more. Then came the fungal infection. Florida torreya is now North America’s most endangered conifer, with over 98% of the population lost.
Searching for Ferns
Ferns abound on the Island of Enchantment – Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory is home to many species of ferns, including 22 endemic species found nowhere else. While stunning tree ferns may capture the attention of island visitors who venture away from the beaches and into the forest, rare endemics are the prize that botanists from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden have been seeking.
Featured Plants from our National Collection
America’s flora is at risk, but it can be saved.
Today nearly 30% of the native flora in the United States is considered to be of conservation concern. Without human intervention, many of these plants may be gone within our lifetime. 80% of at-risk species are closely related to plants with economic value and more than 50% are related to crop species.
Plants in Peril.
CPC’s National Collection of Endangered Plants is composed of the most imperiled plants in the country. An important conservation resource, the Collection is a backup in case a species becomes extinct or no longer reproduces in the wild. Live plant material is collected from nature under controlled conditions and then carefully maintained as seed, rooted cuttings or mature plants.
BECOME A FRIEND OF CPC.
With your financial support, our future flora will be as diverse and green as future generations deserve. Please donate and join the CPC today!