CPCPlants2025 Archives - Center for Plant Conservation

Recent Advancements in Capacity, Curation, and Collection Security at the California Seed Bank and Aspirations for the Future

Over the past decade, the California Seed Bank has experienced significant growth, not only in the number of accessions and taxa within its collection but also in terms of collection curation and security improvements. This presentation will highlight some of these advancements, including relative humidity testing to improve storage conditions and expansion of the germination […]

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is Preparing to Launch a Certification Scheme for Trainers in Essential Theory and Practice of Seed Conservation

Demand for training across the global MSBP partnership is high, while capacity for training delivery is limited, with travel restriction and languages constituting additional barriers for people to access training. The new certification scheme aims to certify qualified individuals, endorsed by their organization, who will train others and provide them with training materials, tools, support […]

Upgrading Seed Banking Operations at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a field station of the University of Texas at Austin and the State Botanic Garden and Arboretum of Texas. The Wildflower Center has been banking seeds of rare and other native plant species since 2001. Management of the largest conservation seed bank in Texas has presented both challenges […]

When Do We Regenerate Conservation Seed Collections? Integrating Lessons From CPC Seed Longevity Study into Best Practices

In this presentation we will explore the ecological correlates of germination and RNA based metrics of seed longevity uncovered for through CPC’s 4-year IMLS funded seed longevity study. We evaluate the importance of planning re-collection or regeneration intervals that match a species predicted longevity. We highlight specific functional groups and regions where these intervals may […]

From Prediction to Propagation: Modeling Seed Longevity and Enhancing Germination for Conservation

Seed conservation plays a critical role in safeguarding plant biodiversity, particularly for rare and endangered species with limited seed availability. This presentation explores two complementary approaches to optimizing ex situ seed conservation: modeling seed longevity using probit analysis and enhancing germination through embryo excision. Probit analysis has long been used to model seed viability loss […]

A Population Genetics Approach to Characterizing the Styrax platanifolius Subspecies (and preliminary results)

Styrax platanifolius, a rare plant species primarily from Central and West Texas as well as Coahuila, Mexico, has long been subject to taxonomic debate. The species is currently considered to contain five subspecies which are mostly distinguished by their pubescence. Genotyping Styrax platanifolius subspecies platanifolius, stellatus, and texanus (currently limited sampling of mollis and youngiae) […]

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Ddradseq Data Reveals the Little mousetail (Myosurus Minimus Subsp. Apus) to Be a Rare Species Restrict

Reduced-representation genomic sequencing (ddRADseq) is a cost-effective method providing answers to long-standing questions about fine-scale plant diversity, with implications for conservation and management of rare species. In this study, we used population-level sampling and ddRADseq to carry forward a phylogenetic analysis of vernal-pool mousetails (Myosurus) in California. A specific objective was to test if there […]

Germination Requirements of Lythrum curtissii

Lythrum curtissii is a perennial herb endemic to southwest Georgia, the Florida Panhandle, and northeast Florida. The species is imperiled throughout its range: it is ranked S1 in Georgia, S2 in Florida, and G2 globally. The Jones Center at Ichauway has collected seeds from multiple populations of Lythrum curtissii since 2019 but had achieved little […]

Rare Plant Propagation in Fog

Propagating rare plants from cuttings presents unique challenges, often knowledge of best practices is limited due to the species’ rarity. For some of our most difficult-to-root species, we have found success using a fog tent system. However, the process of successfully hardening off these rooted cuttings can vary significantly, requiring careful management. […]

Plant-Animal Interactions on Hesperomannia oahuensis

Hesperomannia oahuensis is an endangered, bird pollinated tree or shrub endemic to the Waiʻanae Mountains of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Severe drought, changing forest composition, ungulate damage, loss of pollinators, and low fitness are contributing factors to the steep decline of wild H. oahuensis populations. The wild population has declined from 96 plants to 2 since 1977. […]

Rare Plant Rescue Gardens in Pennsylvania: A Budding Concept

While the Environmental Review process in Pennsylvania allows the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to request avoidance of state listed plant species, the reality is that isn’t always possible. The Pennsylvania Plant Conservation Alliance (PPCA) is working with our partners at gardens and seed banks to pilot a new mitigation option involving ex situ […]

The California Islands Biodiversity Information System: Strengthening Conservation by Sharing Information

The 18 islands in the Pacific off the coast of California and Baja California are home to more than 1,200 native plant taxa, many of which are endemic to the islands. The islands are connected by geography, ecology and a shared history of human impacts. As island stakeholders work to protect and restore these islands, […]

Collaborating for Conservation: Laukahi’s Shared Practices to Safeguard Hawai‘i’s Native Plants

Hawaiian plants are among the rarest and most endangered in the world, requiring urgent and coordinated conservation efforts. Laukahi: The Hawai‘i Plant Conservation Network was established to implement the Hawai‘i Strategy for Plant Conservation and foster collaboration among partners to develop shared resources, tools, data, and best management practices. Regional protocols and best management practices […]

Saving Plants with Teamwork: 20 Years of Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program

Over the last twenty years, the Hawai’i Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) has maintained a singular goal: to halt the loss of native plant species in Hawaiʻi. To be effective, PEPP relies on an expanding partnership of public agencies, private landowners, scientific researchers, propagation experts, and volunteers. This presentation will review the challenges PEPP faces […]

A Metacollection Model for Effective Tree Conservation

Effective species conservation requires ex situ conservation approaches. Botanic gardens and arboreta have the expertise to propagate plants of conservation concern, but they often lack the space or resources needed to capture sufficient genetic diversity. This is particularly true for large and long-lived plants like trees. A network of coordinated living collections at multiple sites […]

Keynote: Which wild species are the progenitors of our future crops?

Which wild species are the progenitors of our future crops? On the one hand, wild species that are interfertile with major crops are well-known as valuable resources for crop improvement. While these crop wild relatives have been an important focus of conservation efforts, a relatively small number of wild plant species have entered the domestication […]

Tumultuous Treeline: Creating a Better Alpine Map

Broadly defined, the alpine zone is the area above treeline and below permanent snow. However, the alpine in practice is more difficult to pin down. While temperature is understood to be the leading factor in the transition to treelessness, the alpine paradoxically resists traditional mapping efforts, with many classification attempts excluding smaller alpine areas, such […]

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