Non-orthodox species that cannot be conserved long-term using conventional seed banking methods. This includes species with few or no seeds available for banking, species with seeds that are intolerant of desiccation and freezing, or seeds that can tolerate drying, but not freezing, or species that may only tolerate storage at –20oC for less than 10 years.
Megan Philpott, Valerie PenceL*, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, United States *Speaker Threats to global plant biodiversity compel the need for ex situ collections of species worldwide. However, the subset of species known as exceptional plants are often overlooked. These species produce few or no seeds or produce recalcitrant seeds. The Center for Conservation and […]
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 […]
Joyce Maschinski, Center for Plant Conservation and Valerie Pence, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Crotalaria avonensis is an endangered legume endemic to Florida that produces few seeds. In vitro shoot cultures of multiple genotypes have been grown at CREW to provide genetic diversity for restoration and for tissue cryopreservation. These cultures harbor a bacterium, identified […]
Although many rare plants have seeds that can be stored by conventional methods, not all species have seeds that can live after drying or freezing. Sometimes called “Exceptional plants, ” these species have a wide range of variation. Some produce few or no seeds, thus they cannot be seed banked, others have seeds or spores […]
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 […]