The reason why a plant is rare relates to its biogeographical history and the threats it has faced. Historically, some species were once broadly distributed, but are now restricted to small fragments due to habitat destruction. Other species are naturally rare, meaning they never had a broad distribution, never had large numbers of individuals. They are vulnerable to habitat destruction and climate change, especially if they have highly specific habitat requirements. They may be more susceptible to unpredictable events, such as landslides and fires, which cause catastrophic loss. NatureServe, a CPC network partner, gathers information on plants throughout their range to evaluate their rarity and the degree of threat they face. They have developed a consistent method for evaluating the imperilment of a species, ranging from critically imperiled to demonstrably secure.

The roles rare plants play within their ecosystems –past, present, and future –is rarely understood, largely because it is unexamined. CPC partners are learning more about these plants as they work to save them. We do know that each has a unique story and we hope you enjoy reading some of them here and in exploring plants in CPC’s National Collection.

The green pitcher plant is a charismatic ambassador for the plight of endangered plants. Pitcher plants have a unique shape that begs a closer look, rewarding admirers with insight into how these botanic predators trap insects for nutrients. At the Garden, the education department collects pitcher plant material for children to explore in classes, and the plants are often on display at a fundraising events. Carrie describes the reactions of children and adults as a “spark of wonder as these plants’ mysteries unravel before their eyes.” The staff use the charisma of pitcher plants to promote both an appreciation for plants and an awareness of their needs. The green pitcher plant provides a superb example of a conservation success, showing how imperiled plants can be helped when their needs are addressed. Carrie’s hope is that this story will continue to inspire the public, especially future conservation biologists and stewards of nature.

The green pitcher plant has drawn many to its cause. Population sites in Georgia and North Carolina are conserved by TNC and have been actively managed for a long time. Management efforts continue to improve as researchers working with conservationists in the Southern Appalachia Bog Learning Network (BLN) increase the understanding of the bog hydrology and plant needs. The Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA) has helped lead monitoring, management, and plant enhancements for green pitcher plants in Georgia. They have also served as a mentor for the Alabama PCA as it began to reverse the decline of the their Populations where we have supplied plants and helped with work days included public and private lands. The work of these collaborative groups benefits multiple pitcher plant species (Sarracenia oreophila, S. jonesii, and S. purpureavar. montana), as well as many other plant and animal species endemic to boggy habitats in the mountains, such as swamp pink and bog turtle.

Within this web of conservationists, the Garden plays a few key roles, both leading and supporting. Their primary work continues to be conservation horticulture and seed banking. When called upon, the team will also hop over to Alabama to help with a work event and monitor populations. They maintain indexed conservation collections –living plants with origin and parentage tracked. In 2006, a population augmentation using living collections was conducted at a microsite adjacent to the main Georgia population. Seed collections are being made to include the species in CPC’s upcoming IMLS longevity study and to maintain collection diversity by maternal lines. The Garden’s efforts to capture the diversity of the North Carolina and Georgia populations through seed banking will soon extend to Alabama. And use of material supplied by the Garden for reintroductions at new sites within the natural range of the species remains a hopeful possibility.

In the meantime, the Garden continues to monitor the 2006 augmentation and promote the plight and progress of green pitcher plant to the public. According to Carrie, the species may never reach the goal of having 18 stable populations on protected lands, as is currently required for delisting. Yet great advances have already been made through the work of the Garden, The Nature Conservancy, the PCAs, the BLN, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and future benefits for this species will grow out of further collaboration across its range. Conservationists working with green pitcher plant have great hopes that it will continue to be a model for success and an ambassador for developing partnerships, including the Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance, as well as other plants in need of collaborative efforts.

Though showy stickseed may be adapted to the loose-soiled and steep environment of Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, the location of the species’ only known population in the Cascades, its human helpers are definitely not. The Rare Care team and their partners find the terrain highly challenging for conducting monitoring and out planting efforts, in terms of safety and limiting impact on the site. The soils are shallow, well-drained sand with low organic matter content and high rock and gravel content. This habitat was historically maintained by frequent wildfires that kept the understory vegetation, particularly shrub cover, sparse. With today’s emphasis on wildfire control, however, human efforts are often needed to reduce tree and shrub cover. Although the U.S. Forest Service has been able to remove some trees when snow is present, other vegetation controls would be too disruptive to the soil. Even otherwise low-impact monitoring activities need to be limited to prevent soil disturbances that might bury or damage plants. To develop a safe and statistically robust method to track changes in population, Rare Care is currently working on a monitoring plan that uses photo points, point counts and other no-impact techniques.

Showy stickseed’s limited range and habitat specificity complicate recovery efforts, by reducing options for establishing new populations to build redundancy. The sole existing population includes just 300 individuals. This makes it exceedingly vulnerable to catastrophic loss from an unpredictable event, such as a landslide. Wendy’s team and others working with the species are currently searching for reintroduction sites to develop three stable self-sustaining populations, the goal of this endangered species’ recovery plan. Each site needs to support an average of 1,000 individuals. Finding suitable sites to introduce new populations has been difficult, however, and as yet none have been found.

Despite the challenges, the Rare Care team is working steadily towards showy stickseed’s recovery. An early step was learning how to grow the species, which proved quite difficult. Prior to 2004, only limited success with seed germination was achieved, and micropropagation techniques were instead used to create 30 clones placed in an introduction site. Techniques for seed germination were subsequently developed by Jeanie Taylor, a graduate student of Dr. Sarah Reichard, and refined by Rare Care, providing today’s preferred method for propagation. The seeds require cold stratification and embryo excision (hence Wendy’s hours under a microscope) for successful germination. With propagation methods now established, the team’s recent focus has been on augmenting the existing populations and attempting an introduction at a new site.

As an aid for locating suitable sites, Rare Care completed a physical and vegetation characterization of showy stickseed’s habitat to inform habitat modeling efforts. The team is currently working with University of Washington Professor Monika Moskal and her graduate student Drew Foster to complete a habitat characterization model this spring and evaluate the use of drones to identify potential areas with suitable habitat. While the site search is in progress, the U.S. Forest Service will develop a habitat management plan, working with Rare Care and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set the endangered species on a path towards recovery.

Why is so much effort is being put into one small species? Assigning a measurable value to a single species, especially one that seems to live right on the edge of survival, can be difficult. Yet so much is unknown about the plant’s role in the broader ecosystem. What insects or other life forms does this species support? What are its potential effects on evolutionary change? We do know that the habitat in which showy stickseed occurs is unique and may harbor other unique taxa. Whether or not this species was abundant at one time is unclear, as surveys for additional populations occurred long after fire suppression had fundamentally altered its dry conifer forest habitat. Will this be a high-elevation species that blinks into and out of existence over the long arc of evolution? Or will adaptation lead to species survival in the hotter, drier conditions of future climate scenarios?

Regardless of success over geologic time, showy stickseed offers a noteworthy lesson in species radiation and adaptation. One thing is certain: humans have impacted and changed its environment. Loss of biodiversity, both for this species and others it touches ecologically and evolutionarily, is a consequential outcome of our activities. And so Wendy, and many plant conservationists like her, follow an imperative call to do all that can be done to preserve this one population on the edge.

When did you first fall in love with plants?

Although I did not know it would become a theme in my life, I was introduced to rare plants at a very young age. My dad has a Master’s in Botany and was one of the three initial employees of the now long-defunct Rare Plant Studies Center led by Dr. Marshall Johnston at the University of Texas at Austin. Before I was born in the 70s, they were scouting for and relocating rare plant populations and, to a limited extent, propagating rare plants.Dad was no longer working for the Center by the time I was born, but his interest in plants was very influential to both my brother and me from an early age. We went on family hikes, had plant ID lessons, camped, visited national parks, and learned about native plant gardening. By the time I was a senior in high school, I knew my major in college would be Botany.

What was your path to becoming a botanist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department?

I was not actually keen on working on rare plants whenI was first introduced to the idea. I wanted to work on pollination biology in graduate school when I applied to Texas State University. Dr. Paula Williamson, who would become my major advisor, had applied for a Section 6 grant (a federal grant from the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, administered by the states to support endangered species) to study the federally endangered star cactus (Astrophytum asterias). My first thoughts were on how limiting it would be to work with a rare organism.How would I find enough plants to have a study/thesis? But I was offered a research assistantship and the university was only 30 minutes from home, so I took the challenge. After grad school, I worked for 5 years at CPC as its Conservation Projects Coordinator while it was still based in St. Louis. I then applied and received funding in 2012 for another Section 6 grant to create status assessments of a dozen Texas plants that had been petitioned for listing. I worked at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to write the assessments and to have access to their files and expertise. This allowed me to slip into my predecessor’s position when they retired in 2015.

What are the biggest influences on rare plants in Texas?

You may have heard that Texas is a big state. And because of its size and location, it houses a wide variety of ecosystems and geological settings. Texas has mountains, deserts, forests, coastline, scrubland, and short-, mid-and tall-grass prairies. It spans four plant hardiness zones. Annual rainfall ranges from 16” arid West Texas to 60” humid subtropical East Texas. All of this variation has created the opportunity for many rare plants to evolve and persist. But Texas is also a state of great growth. The entire eastern portion, starting from Laredo in the south and Fort Worth in the north, continues to be a rapidly growing area, with Texas projected to have the highest population increase of any U.S. state for the second decade in a row. Roads and water are needed for all these inhabitants. Texas also houses healthy agricultural and oil/gas/wind industries. All of these directly compete for the same soil as Texas’ rare plants.

What are the greatest challenges you face in your work?

You may have heard that Texas is a big state. TPWD has two botanists, a species-focused botanist (that’s me) and a rare plant community ecologist. In addition to many other things, I am responsible for our list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN),with over 400 plants. We also have an SGCN list of over 200 rare plant communities. Maintaining these lists is a big chore for two people in addition to our other tasks. It feels overwhelming most days

What about working with plants has surprised you?

There is so much we don’t know! And there is so much I don’t remember!

What new or upcoming research, process, or policy relating to the understanding and conservation of rare plants excites you?

My broader program, the Wildlife Diversity program, was able to hire 1½ temporary data analysts to tackle the immense backlog of plant data we have housed in paper and electronic files at the Texas Natural Diversity Database. These two new employees will be able to focus on the backlog, starting with two federally and state-listed plants in East Texas. This is not a sexy project, but we only have three full-time data specialists for seven taxa biologists and a whole state’s worth of rare plant, plant community, and animal data. To be able to zero in on plant data entry makes accessing and interpreting rare plant data easier for both our external data users and me!

Registration Now Open!

We are delighted to invite you to the 2021 Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting. For the safety of our network, the CPC National Meeting will be held virtually again in 2021. This year’s meeting will focus on reconnecting with our network and sharing plant conservation successes from the past two years, those achievements we have made despite considerable adversity. As we see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, now is the time to build plans toward a collaborative future in plant conservation research.

Presentation sessions will include updates from the CPC National Office on network wide initiatives and lightning talks from CPC network partners on plant conservation research, accomplishments, and challenges. Working sessions will engage the network. We wish to gather network input for CPC policy paper on the threat of climate change to rare plants. We will ask the network to beta-test our IMLS-funded plant conservation education platform, CPC Rare Plant Academy. Back by popular demand, we will hold our second annual National Meeting Photo Contest, and we will introduce a new communication tool contest. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Registration closes to CPC PI presenters April 9th, 2021 & to all participants April 30th, 2021. 

This year, CPC’s Board of Trustees meeting will take place the Friday following the CPC National Meeting on May 14th, 2021. 

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