Brighamia insignis Archives - Center for Plant Conservation

Using Ex Situ Collections to Test Mating Systems – Brighamia insignis

Storyboard Contributed by: Seana Walsh, National Tropical Botanic Garden Understanding the reproductive biology of rare plant species is fundamental to managing their conservation. This video presents a case study of an extremely rare Hawaiian species, Brighamia insignis, which no longer can depend on its native pollinators in the wild. Researchers at National Tropical Botanical Garden […]

Tools and Resources for Endangered and Exceptional Plant Species (TREES)

Zoe Diaz-Martin, Chicago Botanic Garden As global biodiversity continues to decline, how can we ensure the long-term conservation of exceptional plant species? Our collaborative project is addressing this question by developing tools and resources that will position botanic gardens as key players in global plant conservation. In adopting the successful framework used in the zoological community, […]

Challenges for ex situ collections: partnerships with the zoo community

Jeremie Fant, Chicago Botanic Garden This talk highlights the Chicago Botanic Garden’s work on adapting zoo conservation approaches for exceptional plant species. Challenges in ex situ conservation include genetic issues that arise from limited numbers of individuals and founders, and husbandry and hybridization issues encountered during the growing out of collections. A significant advantage in plant conservation is that seeds can be collected […]

Using a zoo model to conserve genetic diversity of critically endangered species ex situ

Jordan Wood, Jeremie Fant, Andrea Kramer and Kay Havens, Chicago Botanic Garden Genetics becomes important whenever populations become small (<100). This includes loss o fgenetic diversity from drift, increased expression of deleterious genes due to inbreeding, and limiting local adaptation. Since many species of plants are able to be seed banked, it is possible to […]