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Save Plants: January 2023 Newsletter

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The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI), based out of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN works to conserve, restore, and promote native grasslands of all types throughout a 24 state region. Earlier this year, SGI joined the CPC as a Participating Institution (PI) due to its growing efforts in in situ and ex situ rare […]
Dense stands of columnar ‘tree cacti’ similar to those in the Greater Antilles were once found in the Florida Keys, but harvesting, habitat loss, damage from mammals, climate change, and sea level rise led to a population crash that landed the cactus on the US endangered species list in 1984. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s conservation […]
In 2018, to make way for a new bridge being constructed over Pinto Creek just south of Miami/Globe, Arizona the DBG salvaged 34 endangered Echinocereus arizonicus (Arizona hedgehog cactus). These plants were brought back to the garden to recover, propagate cuttings, and collect seed for banking. Upon completion of construction in 2022 we were able […]
Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a federally threatened, fugitive annual species found on barrier islands off Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Massachusetts. Beginning in the 1980s, the North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) has worked to secure ex situ seed collections. Surveys for seabeach amaranth conducted in the late 1990s returned counts of >200,000 individuals […]
For over three decades, the Missouri Botanical Garden has spearheaded an integrated conservation program with state and federal partners to improve conservation outcomes with the federally endangered wildflower, Pyne’s ground-plum (Astragalus bibullatus). Here, I highlight three key programmatic milestones critical to the successful recovery of this species. First, seed collections made over three decades from […]
Michael Kunz, North Carolina Botanical Garden Populations of rare plants can fail to produce enough, or any, seed to support reintroduction efforts. This is particularly true for rapidly declining or recently extirpated species or populations. One solution to this problem is to increase the number of seeds through ex situ propagation and seed collection. Amaranthus pumilus is a federally endangered […]
Cheryl Peterson, Bok Tower Gardens Dicerandra immaculata var. immaculata (Lakela’s Mint) (Lamiaceae) is a short-lived perennial endemic to the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. It has only a three-mile historical range and few remaining populations. Population modeling predicts near complete loss of plants within eight years unless habitat is improved enough to support large enough populations to withstand stressful events such […]
Tony Gurnoe, San Diego Botanic Garden Baccharis vanessae, Encinitas baccharis, was originally described from a small population in Encinitas, California, just a couple of miles from the San Diego Botanic Garden (SDBG). The last individual to live within the garden was documented in 1997 and has not been observed since. The nearby type locality has also dwindled […]
Alexandra Seglias (Denver Botanic Gardens), Nicola Ripley (Betty Ford Alpine Gardens), Brittany Roberts Marshall (Betty Ford Alpine Gardens) Alpine ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The Denver Botanic Gardens are seeking to protect rare species from these regions, banking seeds from multiple Alpine populations by maternal line. However, collecting seed from these remote areas […]
Melissa K. McCormick, Dennis F. Whigham, Rachel Rock-Blake, Hope E.A. Brooks North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC) and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Orchids are widely threatened and endangered worldwide, but efforts to conserve and restore them has been limited by not knowing about the pollinators and fungi they need to grow and reproduce. The […]
Margi Hunter, Tennessee Naturalist Program, Cooper Breeden, Southeastern Grasslands Initiative, Austin Peay State University, Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance The lack of funding and resources necessary to conserve many of our most imperiled species and communities is a ubiquitous problem. In the absence of traditional support, more grassroots and citizen-led efforts are essential to ensure the survival […]
Seana Walsh, National Tropical Botanical Garden When conducting plant reintroductions with the help of volunteers it is useful to do a measure of advance planning. Considerations might include such items as taking into account how many volunteers are attending and making sure that there are enough tools and gloves available. It is important to be certain […]
Joyce Maschinski poses with a sentry milkvetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax), a species she helped direct toward recovery with reintroductions and management. […]