Save Plants

In May 2022, researchers led by The Morton Arboretum and the USBG were thrilled to find a lone specimen of Quercus tardifolia, an oak previously thought to be extinct. The 30-feet-tall tree was found within Big Bend National Park in Texas, though it is in poor condition and in immediate need of conservation. First described in the 1930s, the species was believed to have gone extinct in 2011.Q. tardifolia is considered one of – if not the – rarest oaks in the world.

“The United States Botanic Garden is thrilled about the success of this collecting trip that rediscovered such a rare oak species,” said Susan Pell, Ph.D., acting executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden, which is funding and collaborating on the project. “This collaborative discovery highlights the importance of partnerships in bringing together diverse expertise to save imperiled species.”

The team that made the discovery described the trunk as scarred by fire and showing signs of severe fungal infection. A drought or fire has the potential to end its life, and climate change makes this outcome more likely every year. The collaborators are now working with the National Park Service to reduce the immediate wildfire threat to the tree. Conservationists in this collaborative are moving quickly to return to search for additional trees, take cuttings and collect acorns.

“This work is crucial to preserve the biodiversity that Earth is so quickly losing,” said Murphy Westwood, Ph.D., Vice President of Science and Conservation at The Morton Arboretum. “If we ignore the decline of Q. tardifolia and other rare, endangered trees, we could see countless domino effects with the loss of other living entities in the ecosystems supported by those trees,” she said.

“This is important, collaborative research that is necessary for the conservation of Q. tardifolia,” added Carolyn Whiting, a botanist at Big Bend National Park. “The Chisos Mountains support a high diversity of oak species, partly because of the wide range of habitats available in this ‘sky island.’ There is still much to learn about the oaks in the Chisos.”

Collaborators on the trip included personnel from the USBG and The Morton Arboretum, Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories and Arboretum; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; NatureServe; Polly Hill Arboretum; San Antonio Botanical Garden; University of California, Davis Arboretum and Public Garden; and The Sul Ross State University A. Michael Powell Herbarium.

Preserving oaks is critical to ecosystems

Oaks are considered “exceptional” species for genebanking purposes because their acorns cannot be preserved using traditional seed banking methods such as cryopreservation and/or desiccation. Oaks, like many large-seeded fruit and nut trees, must be maintained in the wild or in cultivated living collections – which is why the involvement of botanic gardens is critical to their conservation. The researchers who found the Q. tardifolia tree are concerned that it is not producing acorns. Other methods of propagation, including grafting, are being pursued to preserve the oak’s future.

Oaks serve as an ecological anchor cleaning air, filtering water, sequestering carbon dioxide, and supporting countless fungi, insects, birds and mammals. Conservation efforts such as this benefit greatly from collaborative initiatives that include botanic gardens, conservation organizations, land holders, and a variety of scientists and horticulturists to secure a future for endangered species.

“In many ways, this tree is an ancient relic. Due to the changing climate, the world is completely different now than when it evolved,” said Wesley Knapp, chief botanist at NatureServe, who participated in the expedition. “It is incumbent upon us to learn from it and protect it while we still can in order to inform future conservation efforts,” he said. “Nature rarely hands us a second chance, and I doubt we’ll get a third. We won’t waste it.”

Learn more about the USBG’s many plant conservation, scientific research, training and education, and urban agriculture partnerships at www.USBG.gov/Partnerships.

Part of my research consisted of collecting tissue samples of these sage species on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. During these field expeditions, I was able to experience the beautiful endemic flora of high-elevation ecosystems in the Sierra San Pedro Martir and the rare island species that are only found in the Channel Islands. I also saw the dire positions some of these species are in as a result of detrimental practices, such as agriculture and housing development. Because of this, I’ve chosen to pursue a career that uses bioinformatics – the use of computational tools to analyze biological data – to help conduct research that will aid the conservation of endemic and threatened plants.

Armed with my undergraduate research experience, I joined the Center for Plant Conservation in May 2022. My summer fellowship focuses on the IMLS Seed Longevity Study, which seeks to find better ways of modeling how long seeds can survive in storage. Organizations like the Native Plant Seed Bank at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance take care of massive collections of seeds, stored as insurance in case of ecological disasters and extirpation of rare plants. Because of the restricted numbers of some rare plant species, it is important to not only have enough seed for restoration, but also to save representatives that correspond to different populations in order to preserve genetic diversity. Current methods involve periodical germination testing of stored seeds until viability has dropped enough that a new collection is required. It is difficult, however, to predict when this drop-off in seed viability will occur using traditional germination methods. The time of year in which seeds are collected, the amount of rainfall that occurred in the wet season, and other climatic variables all influence how healthy the seeds are in a specific accession. It is therefore important to find a way to better predict the seed longevity of a species without relying solely on germination tests.

The Seed Longevity Study uses measurements of RNA Integrity of seeds – also known as RIN – to create more efficient predictions of how long seeds can last in storage before they have to be recollected from the wild. During my time at the CPC, I compiled data from a variety of sources – including Nature Serve, USDA Plants, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, WorldClim, and the TRY Plant Database – to formulate a predictive model based on morphological, ecological, and climatic factors. The species in the study are quite diverse, taken from a variety of plant families and ecosystems. These include the Tecate cypress (Hesperocyparis forbesii), a rare cypress that only occurs in California and Baja California; the turk’s-head cactus (Echinocactus horizonthalonius), a small barrel cactus endemic to northern Mexico; and the lemon lily (Lilium parryi) which is a rare species considered to be the only lily native to the state of Arizona.

This variety of plants has allowed me to look at a number of interesting factors, which I am comparing across all 100+ rare species in the study. For example, I am investigating whether or not different habitats affect the longevity of seeds. Do seeds from wetter habitats, like bogs or coastal wetlands, evolve to be more or less resistant because of the abundance of water and threat of rot? The growth habit of a specific taxon is also interesting, because trees and shrubs might produce more seeds in their lifespan when compared to herbaceous species. This might translate to tree seeds having less of a need to persist in the soil. Other factors I am evaluating for relevance in predicting seed longevity include dispersal type (animal or wind or water) and climatic factors (rainfall and temperature).

Creating an accurate model of seed longevity can help seed banks to better anticipate when their seed stores will lose viability, and to organize new recollection expeditions at appropriate times. This means that populations of rare and endangered plants will be better conserved, and seed banks will always be prepared to repopulate ecosystems that have been devastated by natural disasters or human impact.

When did you first fall in love with plants?

I have always been fascinated with biodiversity in a very nerdy way. When I was a kid, I kept a binder with hundreds of animal fact sheets, and my best friend and I would create little dioramas with animal figures in different ecosystems. I crossed over to loving plants in college when I did a research experience in Borneo, where the plant diversity is breathtaking. It’s amazing to see pitcher plants below 40-meter tall ironwood trees draped with orchids, ferns, and bromeliads – oh my! There is just so much to know and love about plants. Plus, I love how they can’t move, so it’s easy to revisit, study, and “get to know” a plant, especially a tree.

What was your career path to the Center for Plant Conservation?

I did my PhD research on tropical forest community and ecosystem ecology at the University of Illinois and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. For field work, I tromped around Fortuna Forest Reserve in western Panama collecting plant tissue samples to evaluate how tropical trees store critical elements, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, for times of stress. With this experience, I learned how to manage and unite forestry and plant trait datasets for analyses – but also developed a distaste for the labwork that would have been key to generating more data to advance my particular research topic. After a stint exploring data science options in Silicon Valley, I decided that conservation and collections management would be great way to contribute my background in data and biodiversity toward something positive (without getting my hands too dirty in the lab). I am thankful to the Plant Conservation team at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the CPC network for acquainting me with plant conservation science and being patient with me as I learned the ropes over these past five years. I love this field not only for the subject matter, but also for the uniquely friendly and supportive community of plant conservationists.

In your experience, what are some of the pressing conservation needs impacting the rare and native plants of the United States?  

Rare plants need skilled and well-resourced advocates on the ground. The care of these species requires a great deal of sustained study and curation, so we need to advance the profession of conservation botany and find support for botanical knowledge within our private and public institutions to ensure that these plants have skilled protectors for generations to come. That is why I am proud that CPC is making learning and training resources freely available on our website through Rare Plant Academy (RPA) and our upcoming Applied Plant Conservation Online Course.

What are some of the current conservation initiatives you’re helming for CPC?

I currently help oversee two main types of CPC programs: 1) programs that fund our partners to secure and learn from ex-situ collections of rare plant species, and 2) those that catalogue the plant-saving work of our partners in a rare plant knowledge base. I am particularly excited at the moment by our IMLS-funded seed longevity study that has funded our PIs to recollect seed from populations of plants held in orthodox seed banks for fifteen years or more. We are working with the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins to determine if we can use a metric of seed health known as RNA Integrity to better inform curation decisions. As a community, we need more exact estimates for how long rare plant species live in seed banks, so we can prioritize which collections to grow out or recollect before it’s too late.

Much of your work is focused on the access and application of biological data for conservation research and activities – in what ways does this advance CPC’s mission to save plants?

In contrast to animal conservation, for which whole teams of people at many institutions may be working with a single rare species, plant conservation knowledge can be extremely limited to specific organizations or individuals. One of CPC’s current priorities is creating a public knowledge base for plant species in the National Collection, so that practitioners can learn from past knowledge and avoid reinventing the wheel. Through our CPC Rare Plant Academy grant, CPC has been pulling multi-media forms of plant conservation information into our National Collection database – including recorded conference proceedings, newsletter articles, and photos – to create a more complete, one-stop reference for our network’s work on a particular species.

CPC is also excited to be partnering with Dr. Joe Bellis and Dr. Matthew Albrecht on the reinvigoration of CPC’s Reintroduction Registry/Database, which represents a repository of knowledge for plant translocation – perhaps the most time-intensive and important actions in plant conservation. The registry is online now, and the database will be available in full to contributors later this year.

What has surprised you about working with and learning more about rare plants? What successes or challenges have you encountered in your work?

Working with rare plants has higher highs and lower lows compared to other projects I’ve been involved with. For instance, it’s a great feeling to visit the Torrey Pines restoration site I am collaborating on with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the staff at California State Parks and see that some of the seedlings planted last year are already one meter tall! However, it is also very distressing when we go to census seedlings and find higher mortality than expected, or seedlings beginning to show signs of drought stress. The emotions are stronger for a plant reintroduction than when you are simply conducting a field experiment, because it’s more than an academic question – you really want to see the plants do well for the sake of the species persistence.

What advice would you give to those who wish to learn more about how they can help save imperiled plant species?

For students interested in becoming involved in plant conservation as a profession, I would suggest subscribing to the CPC newsletter, CPC Rare Plant Academy, and the Plant Conservation Alliance listserv, to learn more about opportunities to work, intern, or volunteer at botanical gardens, environmental consulting groups, or federal agencies. If you are looking at graduate schools, I recommend seeking out programs that have collaborations with public gardens. I studied plant biology in graduate school, but collaborating with a botanical garden was not on my radar until very late in the game – and I think I would have loved it. And of course, I would really encourage you to stay tuned for our CPC Applied Plant Conservation Course, so you can learn from experts in the field about the best methods for saving plants.

For members of the public, I would say that visiting your local botanical garden and joining a native plant society in your area are the best ways to learn about opportunities for plant conservation support. These experiences might include invasive species removal efforts, planting of native species on your own property, or even contacting your representative to help push forward important policy changes that increase support for rare plants.

The Center for Plant Conservation is a one-of-a-kind network that unites leading plant conservationists from botanical gardens, arboretums, and other plant- and conservation-focused organizations to work collaboratively to save imperiled plants throughout their native range in the United States and internationally. We seek a champion for plant conservation and environmental resiliency to serve as CPC’s next President and Chief Executive Officer and to lead CPC’s operations and strategic initiatives.

Focus Areas

• Organizational Leadership, Strategy, and Management
• Staff Leadership
• Board Relations
• Financial Management and Fundraising
• Communications and Outreach
• Program Oversight
• Relationship Building, Collaboration, and Network Management

Location

CPC’s headquarters is located at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, California, operated by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, a CPC Participating Institution. Periodic remote work is possible. Regular travel is expected.

Start Date

Late Fall 2022

Detailed Position Information

The complete Position Specification can be found here.

To Apply

Please visit the Protrero Group website and select “Apply.”

Interested candidates should apply by August 1, 2022, for priority consideration. Applications should include a resume and a cover letter describing your qualifications that match the position criteria and what you will bring to the role.

Please contact Potrero Group Managing Director, Andrew Leider at aleider@potrerogroup.com with any questions.

As Seen on CPC’s Rare Plant Academy: Photo Posting Tool

Are you familiar with the photo posting tool on the Rare Plant Academy? Adding photos to the Plant Profiles in our National Collection gives rare plants more visibility, putting a face to a name—and adding a touch of personality! It also helps the scientific community and the public to better engage with these special plants. The increased attention can lead to more support for critical conservation work in the form of Plant Sponsorships, which help our community working hard to Save Plants.

It’s easy to post photos to our website. Our Institutional and Individual Conservation Partners can do this from the Rare Plant Academy homepage or directly from their user dashboard. Include a caption sharing which species is present in your image, where the photo was taken, and who took the picture. With thousands of species in our National Collection, your photos can help these rare plants get seen!