Botanic gardens play major roles in plant conservation globally. Since the 1980s, the number of botanic gardens worldwide and their involvement in integrating ex situ and in situ plant conservation has increased signifi cantly, with a growing focus on...

Over the last few decades botanic gardens worldwide have been encouraged to adopt complementary measures for the conservation of plant species from their own
regions, combining in situ conservation efforts with ex situ methods, both in...

The below case studies were collected and shared in a September 2018 Newsletter from the Center for Plant Conservation. 

Based on an interview with Denise Knapp, Director of...

In a pollen supplementation experiment, fruit or seed production by flowers exposed to natural pollination is compared to that following hand pollination either by pollen supplementation (i.e. manual outcross pollen addition without bagging) or manual...

For many species and seed sources used in restoration activities, specific seed germination
requirements are often unknown. Because seed dormancy and germination traits can be
constrained by phylogenetic history, related species are often...

This article covers tests conducted to better understand spatial and climatic patterns of diversification in the Orchidaceae, an angiosperm family characterized by high levels of species diversity and rarity. Globally, does orchid diversity correlate...

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...

Botanical gardens devote their resources to the study and conservation of plants, as well as making the world's plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens also play a central role in meeting human needs and providing well-being. In this...

Early botanic gardens served medicine, and then they became important for
biological research as well as for the transfer of crop species around the globe.
Today, they are important sites for outreach and education, but globally their...

The need for integration of ex situ and in situ approaches in conservation of plants has long been recognized. However, ex situ collections have numerous limitations that reduce their utility for conservation, necessitating the introduction of new,...

Impacts of global climate change, habitat loss, and other environmental changes on the world's biota and peoples continue to increase, especially on islands and in high elevation areas. Just as floristic diversity is affected by environmental change,...

Although only a minority of plant species have a specific human use, many more play important roles in natural ecosystems and the services they provide, and rare species are more likely to have unusual traits that could be useful in the future. The ...