The Systematics Collections Committee of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists has updated the recommendations on herbarium practices and ethics that were previously published by the Society in 1958 and 1973. The recommendations and considerations...

The Temperate House Restoration Project was undertaken at RBG, Kew from 2012 to 2018. Over 1,000 species of plants were removed, propagated and replanted for this project, and this article describes the propagation of some of the most difficult to...

The purpose of the Collections Policy is to guide the curation of the plants that are accessioned and maintained by the Botanic Garden of Smith College in the Lyman Conservatory, campus arboretum, named gardens, campus plantings, and natural areas. The...

The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden compiled a spreadsheet of Collectors' references and expedition abbreviations with associated information that were gathered from various sources (mostly online resources). The spreadsheet is shared...

These best practices represent a compilation of previous CPC guidelines with updated
recommendations from current research on rare plant conservation. Seed science is a rapidly growing field. To keep abreast of changes in technology and practice...

The first two decades of the twenty-first century have seen a rapid rise in the mobilization of digital biodiversity data. This has thrust natural history museums into the forefront of biodiversity research, underscoring their central role in the...

Functional traits are increasingly used to understand the ecology of plants and to predict their responses to global changes. Unfortunately, trait data are unavailable for the majority of plant species. The lack of trait data is especially prevalent...

Ulmus americana (American elm) was an important urban tree in North America prior to the introduction of the Dutch elm disease pathogen in 1930. Subsequently, urban and community forests were devastated by the loss of large canopies. Tree improvement...

Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) refers to the way in which genetic resources
may be accessed, and how the benefits that result from their use are shared
between the people or countries using the resources (users) and the people or...

Plant breeders require genetic diversity to develop cultivars that are productive, nutritious,
tolerant of biotic and abiotic stresses, and make efficient use of water and fertilizer. The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) is a...

Cycads are the most endangered of plant groups based on IUCN Red List assessments; all are in Appendix I or II of CITES, about 40% are within biodiversity ‘hotspots,’ and the call for action to improve their protection is longstanding. We contend that...

The Living Collections of the USNA conserve plants and encourage their use for research, discovery, and education. The Living Collections also serve as an integral part of the collective botanical heritage of the public garden community. As a unique...

The University of Delaware Botanic Garden, like any other botanic garden, is a repository of botanical collections that supports the mission statement of the institution (See Mission Statement). It is imperative that these collections be documented....

Procedures for Accessioning, Field Checking, and Mapping through use of BGBASE, BG-Map, and Garden Notepad. By Matt Lobdell, Rebecca Pineo, and Anna Bower. 

Being a plant collector for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a wonderful opportunity and privilege. Not only are collectors expected to engage in their activities in a professional manner, but they must meet the high Arboretum standards...

The Standards of Excellence in Plant Collections Management developed by the Plant...

 A companion Self-Assessment Tool is now available to help you evaluate your organization’s current level of collections management. Use the results along with the...

BBG intends to guide, limit and manage their plant collections through the implementation of procedures described within this document. It is intended to be a working document and is subject to periodic review and revision by the BBG coordinating...

Genomic research depends upon access to DNA or tissue collected and preserved according to high-quality standards. At present, the collections in most natural history museums do not sufficiently address these standards, making them often hard or...

Public gardens can benefit from the introduction of new plants to the horticulture industry. There are many ways to develop and discover new plants in the public garden setting, whether it be through plant breeding, exploration or simply discovering a...