Professional Documents
Culture Documents
5 www.centerforplantconservation.org
The Hidden Value of America’s Vanishing Flora
CPC plants may yield food and medicinal benefits
What is the value of America’s na- Cheryl Peterson of
souri Botanical Garden has been work- Bok Sanctuary maintains seeds from
ing to restore. “Price’s ground-nut has this at-risk plant in the CPC national
a potato-like tuber,” she says. “Native collection, and if healthy populations
Americans may have used it as a plant are restored in the wild, it could help
source, and a more common related scientists in their quest for hardier cu-
species is being looked at as a crop spe- cumbers or squash. That’s because the
cies. If you develop one species as a Okeechobee gourd, while not edible it-
crop species and then it gets a disease, self, is resistant to many of the diseases
if you’ve maintained the wild related that affect these economically impor-
species, that wild species may be har- tant crops.
boring a genetic resource. That’s hap- Peterson also works with several
pened with maize, and many of our crop rare, dwindling species of paw-paw, a
species are very vulnerable.” Continued on page 11
approach that can greatly multiply ef- For other plants, even if the list of
forts to save dwindling plants. known occurrences does not grow
“Because these experts are integral through the plan-writing process, there
to the review of these conservation are other benefits. For the Green Moun-
9 www.centerforplantconservation.org
Plants and Zoos results are often healthy
plants that start their lives
Continued from page 1 in test tubes.
logical Horticultural Society (AZH), As part of its Center for
promoting the possibility of high-syn- Conservation and Re-
ergy partnerships between zoos and search, the Henry Doorly
conservation botanists. Some produc- Zoo in Omaha has a lab
tive partnerships are already bearing for rare and endangered
fruit around the country. plants and is working on
“By working with zoos, we can reach cryopreservation tech-
a different audience,” Kennedy says. niques for North Ameri-
“It’s so appropriate for our organiza- can orchids of conserva-
tion to partner with zoos because tion concern such as the
they’re already working on many of the Western Prairie Fringed
same issues that we are.” Orchid (Platanthera
In fact, some zoos may be so closely praeclara).
11 www.centerforplantconservation.org
Merrill Hall
Continued from page 1
healing began. Now, “We found that some clones of this
we are taking the plant take to tissue culture really well,
next step. Yes, we are and others don’t,” she explains. “We’re
photo by Ed Guerrant
vate people who were doing it on a vol- news for this
unteer basis, because they’ve been re- federally listed
ally great,” Reichard says. “But there’s e n d a n g e r e d
no substitute for doing it yourself.” plant.
photo by N. A. Fredricks
years, reaching sizes too small to be but they didn’t want to work with pre-
self-sustaining, and several have appar- vious management. Now the floodgates
ently disappeared. The two largest re- are open. One great thing about
maining populations are found on land Audubon is they’ve hired a full-time
owned by the U.S. Forest Service that Umpqua mariposa lily (Calochortus
volunteer coordinator, which takes a
is currently being grazed by cattle. umpquaensis)
huge weight off my back.
Now, the allotment that allows for cattle So, take us on a tour of the vul-
grazing is being reconsidered, and the eyed grass, and grazing cattle have a nerable Hawaiian plants at Waimea.
future of this beautiful, delicate wild- much bigger impact on the plant than On the tours, I explain CPC’s work,
flower hangs in the balance. native wildlife like elk, deer, and ro- and then I take them through the Ha-
“The Forest Service is making a de- dents. Blue-eyed grass plants in a waiian plants – for example Brighamia
cision whether or not to renew a ten- fenced cattle-exclusion plot produced insignis, which look like cabbage on a
year grazing permit on the land where twice as many new plants. Because the baseball stick. I show the old plants that
blue-eyed grass occurs,” explains plant’s periods of emergence, flower are plants that we grew from even older
Raven. “We’re wrapping up a five-year production and seed development over- ones that we hand-pollinated, but the
project with this plant, and we’ve found lap with cattle grazing months, these younger are wild collected from the
there’s practically no fruit production plants are vulnerable throughout the north shore of Kauai; so they can see
when they’re being grazed by cattle. season. Research found that just one that older ones are not really suitable
Reproduction is significantly reduced.” month of grazing resulted in the re- for a conservation collection.
Marked by bright flowers with peri- moval of nearly half of all leaves and I show Pritchardia munroi, and ex-
winkle petals and a yellow center, the nearly all flowers and fruits from grazed plain there were not originally any co-
plant is capable of reproducing asexu- plants. conuts on Hawaii, only one genus of
ally by sending out underground rhi- Raven has presented these findings palms. And I usually show the rare
zomes that grow into clones. Grazing to the Forest Service, and now the de- Chamaesyce skottsbergii var.
forces plants to rely more heavily on cision rests in their hands. If all goes kalaeloana, which was thought to be
this method. Cloning will make the well, the pale blue-eyed grass could join extinct, then rediscovered a few years
population seem larger, but the genetic the ranks of vulnerable Northwest na- ago. The only population is found on a
resources of the population will remain tives being given a firmer footing by US Naval Air Force property where
relatively constant since many indi- CPC botanists. they’re going to clear off the top six
vidual plants are simply genetic copies The Center for Urban Horticulture’s inches of soil because it used to be a
of their parents. When there are fewer Rare Care team at the University of shooting range.
genetic variations in individual plants, Washington also works with many na- I’d like to do more reintroductions of
populations are all the more vulnerable tive Pacific Northwest plants, includ- these rare plants, and once we get the
to disease, predation, and disturbances. ing the Wenatchee Mountains checker- staffing back, the sky’s the limit. But for
As Raven’s report told the Forest Ser- mallow (Sidalcea oregana var. calva). right now, we’re holding our own.
vice, “Copying a lottery ticket does not CPC botanists at Rare Care have
increase the odds of winning.” worked to establish seedlings of this
Researchers found that cows particu- bright pink wildflower, which got a
larly like to eat the fruit of the pale blue- boost two years ago when the U.S. Fish
Way-side Aster (Aster vialis) and Wildlife Service designated 6,135
acres of seasonal wetlands as “critical
habitat” for the plant.
Another important and vulnerable
Northwest species being researched at
Rare Care is the Showy Stickseed
photo by K. Wood
How you can help the Center for Plant Conservation recover native plants
There are many ways to help the to giving appreciated stock directly. out their help. The Center for Plant
Center for Plant Conservation continue Gift Friendships: CPC Friendships Conservation accepts gifts in the form
to recover America’s vanishing flora. make great gifts! A way to say you care, of cash, check, credit card, or transfer
Every gift counts and is important to a gift Friendship can be sent for any of securities.
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Unrestricted Giving: These gifts are Plant Sponsorships: Plant sponsor- If you would like to know more
not designated for a particular program ships provide the funding to get the about donating to CPC, please contact:
or project. Funds are used where there “hands on” work done for plants in the
is the greatest need. National Collection. Maria Bradford
Honorary and Memorial Oppor- Development Manager
tunities: You can choose to make your Our Friends and Donors are the Center for Plant Conservation
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loved one. tion efforts, providing the help we need St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
Stock Gifts: As your financial advi- to run a national plant conservation or- (314) 577-9457
sor can confirm, there are advantages ganization. CPC could not exist with- or e-mail cpc@mobot.org
Plant Conservation, Autumn 2003 14
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15 www.centerforplantconservation.org
Plant Profile: Vine Hill Clarkia
Society’s Vine-Hill Preserve, but a sig-
By Megan Cotter, CPC intern
nificant effort needs to be made to save
Many people associate the Vine Hill the surviving native population.
area of Sonoma County, California with To compound the problem, the clar-
fields of grapes and fantastic wines. To kia seeds require a special kind of soil
one little plant, however, it is a last ref- to germinate and grow, decreasing the
uge in a losing battle. Vine Hill clarkia probability that these plants will be able
(Clarkia imbricata) belongs to the to come back after a significant distur-
evening primrose family, and is listed bance. The soil must be an acidic loamy
as endangered by the U.S Fish and soil with an undisturbed crust. The