Summer 2003 Plant Conservation Newsletter

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Recovering Americas Vanishing Flora

Above, Tulip Gentian (Eustomagrandiflorum), a dwindling prairie wildflower.

Below, research assistant Michelle

DePrenger-Levin and research intern

Bethany DeMarco collect vegetation data at

a Denver restoration site.

The great American prairie is a placeof mythical proportions. A vast, undu-lating sweep of land, it lives in theAmerican imagination as the setting for pioneer trails, cowboys and Indians,and sunsets that stretch as far as the eyecan see. Its our home on the rangewhere buffalo roam, munching on am-ber waves of grain; the place where thatribbon of highway winds between theendless skyway and a golden valley.But its also a sensitive ecosystem thatsbeing pushed to the brink. Today, onlyfive percent of original tallgrass prairieremains. And, conservationists point

out, its a place where the previous im-pacts of ranching and large-scale agri-culture have resulted in a plethora ofproblems for flora and fauna alike.

CPC institutions and their partnersare working to save some of these imperiled prairie plants and in manycases, theyre doing it with the coop-eration and help of landowners whovalue conservation in land manage-ment.

Coming Clean

Can a former weapons factory con-taminated with toxic chemicals becomea haven for imperiled native plants? AtRocky Mountain Arsenal NationalWildlife Refuge, just miles from down-town Denver, a former wasteland isblossoming into a much-needed havenfor native prairie plants.

Grasses and wildflowers once domi-nated the rolling plains here, with

Conservation

shrubs and trees lining the waterways.Settlements, agriculture, and, begin-ning in the 1940s, a long-standingchemical-weapons and pesticide fac-tory seriously altered that landscape.The flora and fauna of the prairie weredefinitely noton the agenda.

By the 1960s, area residents werecomplaining about contamination ofthe local water supply. By the late1980s the factory had been closeddown, groundwater treatment plants es-tablished, and the EPA stepped in todesignate the area a Superfund toxicclean-up zone. Under the Refuge Act

of 1992, the former arsenal is set to become one of 504 national wildliferefuges once clean-up is complete. Theprairie is about to get a second chance.

Tulip Gentian(Eustomagrandiflorum), a native prairiewildflower, hasdwindled in num-bers as more andmore stream edgesand wet meadowhabitats are de-stroyed by agricul-

ture and develop-ment. The majorproblem for theEustoma is a lack ofhabitat, explainsTom Grant ofDenver BotanicGardens.

Continued on page 4

Budget Crisis Hits ImperiledNative Flora page 7

Summer 2003 Volume 16, Number 3

Grassroots Conservation on the Great American PrairieCPC Botanists help restore native plants in wide open spaces

Rare Plants in Floridas RareHabitats page 6


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Plant Conservation, Summer 2003 2

Board of Trustees

C.W. Eliot Paine, Chairman

Kathryn L. Kennedy, Ph.D.,

President and Executive

Director

Polly Pierce, Vice-President

Emmy White Seymour,Secretary

Hooker Talcott, Jr., TreasurerJack BakerRobert Breunig, Ph.D.

Patricia R. Bush

Ann CoburnPaul Alan Cox, Ph.D.

Richard H. Daley

Julia Bissell LeisenringRichard Lighty, Ph.D.

Jonathan LoringAndrew S. Love, Jr.

John McPheeters

Carolyn OMalleyJanet Meakin PoorEdward Schneider, Ph.D.

Jocelyn SladenMary Ann Streeter

William A. Truslow, Esq.

Peter S. White, Ph.D.Peter Wyse Jackson, Ph.D.

Peter Ashton, Ph.D., Trustee

Emeritus

Participating Institutions

Amy B.H. Greenwell

Ethnobotanical GardenThe Arboretum at Flagstaff

Arizona-Sonora Desert

Museum

The Arnold Arboretum of

Harvard University

The Berry Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic Garden

Center for Urban Horticulture

Chicago Botanic GardenDenver Botanic Gardens

Desert Botanical GardenFairchild Tropical GardenHarold L. Lyon Arboretum

Historic Bok Sanctuary

The Holden ArboretumHonolulu Botanical Gardens

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower

CenterMercer Arboretum and Botanic

GardensMissouri Botanical GardenThe Morton Arboretum

National Tropical BotanicalGarden

New England Wild Flower

SocietyThe New York Botanical Garden

The North Carolina Arboretum

North Carolina Botanical GardenRancho Santa Ana Botanic

Garden

Red Butte Garden andArboretum

Regional Parks Botanic Garden

San Antonio Botanical GardenSanta Barbara Botanic Garden

University of California

Botanical Garden

Waimea Valley Audubon Center

St. George Village Botanic

Garden, Affiliate InstitutionScience Advisory Council

Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., Chair

Marie BruegmannJohn Fay, Ph.D.

Gary KnightRichard Koske, Ph.D.Eric Menges, Ph.D.

Clifford Morden, Ph.D.

Larry Morse, Ph.D.Bruce Pavlik, Ph.D.

Valerie Pence, Ph.D.

Jackie PooleGeorge Proctor, Ph.D.

James ShevockVincent Tepedino, Ph.D.Warren Wagner, Ph.D.

Christina Walters, Ph.D.

George Yatskievych, Ph.D.

National Office Staff

Kathryn L. Kennedy, Ph.D.,President and Executive Director

Rick Luhman,ConservationPrograms Information

Coordinator

Elizabeth Garcia-Dominguez,

Communications CoordinatorKim Preston, Conservation

Technician

Donna Key, Administrative

Assistant

Volunteers

Lois Batchelder, Marie Bergmann,Lori Calcaterra, Nancy Fetter,Gina Kabat, Benjamin Kennedy,David Kennedy, Dorothalyn Key,Sylvia Rolloff, Judy Rusch, MarySerbi, Sue Slivka, Kathy White

The Center for Plant Conser-vation is a national not-for-profitorganization hosted by the Mis-

souri Botanical Garden in St. Louisand governed by an independentboard of trustees.

A network of more than 30 bo-tanical gardens and arboreta, theCenters mission is to conserve andrestore the rare native plants of theUnited States.

Directors Letter:

Telephone: (314) 577-9450

E-mail: [email protected]:

www.centerforplantconservation.org

Plant Conservation is published quar-

terly. If youd like to submit articles, pictures,

or announcements, please contact CPC at

(314) 577-9450 or [email protected]. Or mail

items to CPC, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO

63166.

This newsletter is printed on recycled

paper with soy ink.

Hot summerdays. When itstoo hot to be out-side, I seek ACand a good book.Ralph WaldoEmerson wrote:

Do not go wherethe path may lead,go instead wherethere is no path, and leave a trail.Easier said than done, but it really doesfit the story of CPC. Weve created aneffective program to help conserve ournative flora, and we figured it out aswe went along. This issue of the news-letter really shows how far weve come!

The latest addition to our Along theRoad to Recovery provides a peek atthe revisions to seed collecting proto-

cols coming with our new book nextyear. We take a look at restoration workguided by good science that is helpinganswer important questions, focusingon flora of the prairies and the habitatsof Florida. Our profile of Kay Havens

and her work at the Chicago BotanicGarden shows that passionate and in-novative staff at our institutions reallycan advance conservation locally andnationally.

Our Friends make all of this happen.We see modest growth in our numbers,so we know you are helping spread theword. Thanks to each and every one of

you, we are making a difference. Visi-tors using our website have grown fromthe hundreds to approximately 10,000per month this year, and our partner-ships with agencies have never beenstronger.

But our trailblazing days are notover. There are multiple scientific chal-lenges in growing and restoring thesespecies in the wild. This Fall at our an-nual meeting well take a hard look athow well we are providing for the high-est priority imperiled species. We know

there are still many vulnerable species,and we dont want anything to fallthrough the cracks.

Plus, the ripple effect of the economyover the last several years is hittinghome at many of our institutions, par-

ticularly those supported through statebudgets. We felt we had to show youhow those budget cuts are hitting ourvital conservation programs. ClearlyCPC must contine to grow, providingmore support to restoration programs,and working to improve funding.

What could be crazier than for ouraffluent society to allow the loss of the

plant resources that have the potentialto solve so many problems? In the nextissue well look at federal agency bud-gets for the coming year.

That process at the federal level isgoing on right now though. If you wantto check the status of proposed federalagency budgets online and weigh inyourself, check http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app04.html and click toDepartment of the Interior to track mostendangered species funding, adminis-tered through the Fish and Wildlife Ser-

vice.In the meantime, enjoy these last

lazy days of summer!

Kathryn Kennedy


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3 www.centerforplantconservation.or

Seed Collecting: More than Meets the EyeAlong the Road to Recovery

Along the Road to Recovery is a CPC

series highlighting the steps to recovery

for imperiled plant species. For an

overview of the road to recovery, see the

Winter 2003 issue of Plant Conservation,

available on the CPC Web site at

www.centerforplantconservation.org.

Imagine youve just discovered asmall, struggling population of an im-periled native plant growing in thewild. Youre ecstatic at your discovery,of course. These plants are so rare they

were even considered extinct at onepoint! Now you have a chance to pre-serve the plants ex situ and work to-wards restoring the plant throughout itshistoric range. Immediately, you kneeldown in the soil and start scraping theseeds into your pocket to take back tothe lab right?

Think again! Seed collecting is a keycomponent of plant conservation, andeven this early step in restoration mustfollow careful scientific guidelines to en-sure the success of the project and toguard against extinction. First of all, col-lecting seed as opposed to other plantmaterial might not even be the rightchoice.

You may have found a wild popula-tions that is doing so poorly that it nolonger produces healthy seed; or, per-haps the seeds from this taxon areknown to die when subjected to thefreezing and desiccation typically re-quired for storage.

These situations might call for cut-

tings, or perhaps using tiny amounts of plant tissue in tissue culture. In rarecases, transplanting whole plants maybe considered appropriate, but only asa last resort to save a population fromimminent destruction.

In general, though, taking seeds isthe best option, for many reasons.Transplanting can be hard on a plant,and survival rates may well be lowerthan survivorship in plants propagatedin the greenhouse from collected seeds.Seed collections are more cost-effec-

tive and dont require regular mainte-nance. Plus, seeds do the best job ofsuspending genetic resources, minimiz-ing the genetic shift that nearly invari-ably happens in cultivation as life inthe greenhouse shifts the standards forsurvivorship and reproduction.

Conventional wisdom has long heldthat collecting seed, if done with care,is less harmful to existing populations

than taking plant parts or, worst of all,whole plants. Nevertheless, the poten-tial impact of seed collection on popu-lation health is still a major concern,especially when working with dwin-

dling numbers of rare natives.This question has recently been ad-

dressed in a rigorous scientific mannerfor the first time by Eric Menges (CPCScientific Advisory Council), EdGuerrant (Conservation Director,Berry Botanic Garden) and SamaraHamz. Their chapter on the effect ofseed collection on extinction risk in pe-rennial plants will appear in CPCs up-coming book,Ex Situ Plant Conserva-tion.

The authors used computer model-ing based on real-world data to analyzepossible collection schedules. Amongother conclusions, we found that it isgenerally better to collect smallamounts more frequently than it is tocollect large quantities, even infre-quently, says Guerrant.

Its in the genesSo youve decided to collect seed, and

you have some ideas on how to avoidserious damage to the population in the

wild. But you want to make sure that yourseeds are genetically representative of allthe traits built into the plants DNA. Howmany seeds do you need to collect? Fromwhich plants? And when should you goout in the field to gather them?

The new CPC book, due out in Feb-ruary 2004, will provide some updatedanswers to these questions. Guerrant,joined by co-editors Kayri Havens ofChicago Botanic Garden and MikeMaunder ofFairchild Tropical Gar-den, along with Peggy Fiedler, pro-

vides revised sampling guidelines forconservation collections.

The revised guidelines build on theearlier CPC genetic sampling guidelines,which have found wide use globally, andcontinue the discussion of maximizinggenetic representation in seed collections.

These second-generation guidelinesplace a greater emphasis on the con-text surrounding the collection. Now,

botanists are encouraged to considethe range of purposes for which a seedcollection might later be put to use, in-cluding restorations, right from the

start. For example, many fewer seedsare needed to develop germination andcultivation protocols than to propagateplants for a restoration planting.

Plant conservation is like a three-legged stool, explains Dr. KathrynKennedy, CPC director. You have tohave all three before the chair can standYoure working on several fronts at thesame time: understanding the species bi-ology; habitat protection and manage-ment; and conserving the genetic re-sources for future restoration. What does

this mean for seed collecting? Its not assimple as it seems.

Seeds from Bradshaws parsley

(Lomatium bradshawii) are collected into

small envelopes by botanists at Berry

Botanic Garden.


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The daming of rivers andchannelization of streams has changedthe hydrologic system, and theEustomadepends on seasonal streams. Now,only a few populations are left in theDenver area.

After collecting seeds and conduct-ing propagation and germination stud-ies, Grant and his team introduced cul-tivated tulip gentian plants to an experi-mental plot along the northern edge ofParkfield Wetlands in the outskirts ofthe former arsenal. The experimenttested the importance of soil moistureand found the greatest survivorship inthe areas that were seasonally wet orsaturated soils, but not flooded. There,80 percent of the juvenile plants sur-vived the five-month summer growing

season.The success of this initial experiment

is now leading to a second reintroduc-tion, which could continue next year iffunding from Shell is renewed. This time,researchers will also be monitoring fruit production and recruitment, as well asplanning to add other elements of the prai-rie to the mix. Our idea is to add parts ofthe ecosystem back in, Grant says. Theresearch team hopes to continue restora-tion work by adding other species, includ-ing Alkali yellowtops (Flaveria

campestris) and the federally endangeredColorado butterfly plant (Gauraneomexicana ssp. coloradensis).

Unlikely AlliesIn more northern prairies, at least

one National Collection plant may ac-tually be getting a boost from the re-turn of agricultural practices. The fed-erally threatened prairie bush clover(Lespedza leptostachya), an herba-ceous perennial, is known from only36 sites in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowaand Illinois. So when a population atthe Nachusa Grasslands in western Il-linois dipped drastically after the Na-ture Conservancy stopped cattle graz-ing on the historic ranch site, research-ers took notice. A similar precipitousdrop had been seen after the removalof cattle from a population in Minne-sota.

Buffalo would have provided the

equivalent, explains Pati Vitt, Con-servation Scientist at Chicago BotanicGardens Institute for Plant Conser-vation. The prairie bush clover ben-efits from reduced competition fromgrasses, because thats primarily what

the cattle remove, and an increase inthe percent bare ground due to distur-bance by the hooves.

With a total of 60 experimental plots,each a meter square centered on a singleprairie bush clover plant, Vitt and col-leagues allowed a single cow to graze

pollination might push the plants to over-extend themselves, using up so much oftheir energy in producing offspring thattoo little is left to support growth in thenext season.

I was concerned that the cost of

increased reproduction would lead to ademographic cost that is, a decreasein plant size and subsequent reproduc-tive output, and potentially mortality,Vitt explains. She began her work witha population of the Eastern orchids inIllinois.

In fact, Vitts experiments revealedjust the opposite of her fears and mayhelp us learn more about the natural his-tory of this floral treasure. In the thirdyear, after two years of hand pollina-tion, the plants that were hand polli-

nated are bigger and have more flow-ers and higher survival rates than thosewith any other treatment, includingnatural pollination.

Since this orchid has a short life spanof only five to seven years, and since thepollinator, the hawk moth, was once com-mon, its possible that the plant has theability to up-regulate the photosyntheticapparatus to handle the additional embryoload, Vitt hypothesizes.

This year, we are starting to repeatthe experiment with the Western spe-

cies. The hawk moth is closely relatedto tomato hornworms, which prey onagricultural species like potatoes. Sincemany of the populations of the West-ern species are surrounded by potatoes,its very likely the pollinator is beingimpacted by agriculture.

In the Western species, fruit set isvery low, at 12 percent. In the Easternspecies, its at 30 percent. Given myfindings, that should be more about 60percent for the Eastern species. Now,Im working to see if well find thesame in the Western species.

And so, like the Colorado butterflyplant and prairie bush clover, prairiefringed orchids may become pieces ofthe puzzle in the fragmented habitat ofthe great American prairie. As we re-store these natural treasures, weremaking progress towards restoringsome of the greatest wild places of theAmerican landscape.

Prairie ConservationContinued from page 1

half of the plots to remove 20 percentof the vegetation cover. A year later theycompared the grazed and ungrazedplots, and found that many more juve-nile individuals had been produced inthe grazed plots.

But other agricultural practices maywell be hurting another favorite imper-iled native in the region. Vitt is work-ing to learn more about the Eastern andWestern prairie fringed orchids( Platanthera leucophaea andPlatanthera praeclara, respectively),elegant, showy wildflowers that oncedotted the tallgrass prairies. Now on thefederally threatened list, these speciesare being monitored and hand polli-nated to increase fruit and seed set.

But Vitt was worried that the extra

Above: Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid(Platanthera leucophaea) may be hurt by

pesticides applied to nearby potatoes.

photobyPatiVitt


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NPR Broadcast and Internationa

Agreement Spread CPC Message

Guzundheit!on the coastal prairieIts allergy season, so why are bota-

nists working to save the plants thatmake you sneeze? Perhaps becauseeven allergens are an important part ofour natural heritage.

Paul Cox of the San Antonio Bo-tanical Garden has taken on the itchytask of helping federal agencies restorethe imperiled South Texas Ambrosia(Ambrosia cheiranthifolia), a silvery-green herb in the ragweed family.

This ragweed, however, is not thewidespread coarse weed most of us as-sociate with the word. This federallyendangered species once grew through-out Texas prairie lands and along thegulf coast, but is now known from onlysix locations in the wild.

Herbaceous plants like this one mayplay an important role in the nutrientcycle on the prairie, greening earlier inthe spring or remaining edible longerin the fall than prairie grasses and there-fore providing essential sustenance forgame and other wildlife.

In June, CPC signed a memo-randum of understanding withthree other botanical organiza-tions. The American Associationof Botanical Gardens and Arbo-reta, Botanic Gardens Conserva-tion International, and the Cana-dian Botanical Conservation Net-work, along with CPC, confirmedcommon goals and sharing re-sources. Yearly meetings will es-tablish annual work plans for ar-eas of joint concentration. For2003, the organizations have set the goalof developing a web-based resource cen-ter for plant conservation education.

And in early August, our own

Kathryn Kennedy, CPC director, wasfeatured as a guest on National PublicRadios Science Friday.

This national broadcast had origi-nally been recorded in February at theDenver meeting of the American As-sociation for the Advancement of Sci-

ence and included a discussion of genebanking for endangered species. ChrisWalters, a member of the CPC scienceadvisory council and Research Program

Leader at the National Center for Ge-netic Resources Preservation, was alsofeatured in the discussion.

You can access the program at theScience Friday website: http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2003/Aug/hour2_080103.html

The Texas Hill Countrys uniqueecosystem is a mix of open grassy ar-eas interspersed with woodlands anddense brush.

Now, a coalition of conservationbotanists, city, county and federalagents, landowners, nurserymen, andgardeners are taking a pro-active ap-proach to saving a vulnerable wild-flower in this special place before itstoo late. Bracted twistflower(Streptanthus bracteatus ) is an herba-ceous, somewhat succulent waxy an-nual with beautiful lavender-purple

flowers. This native plant was oncescattered throughout south-centralTexas, and previous surveys by theTexas Parks and Wildlife Department

had located about 20 populations.But an informal group calling them-

selves the Friends of Streptanthus is re-alizing that only a handful of thosepopulations can still be foundandmany are located on private land slatedfor development.

We knew this plant was havingsome problems, so we need to dosomething now before it becomes a

gigantic blip on radarscreen, points out CPC sci-entist Flo Oxley of the LadyBird Johnson WildflowerCenter. The conservationbotanists in the area have got-ten together and said, Letskeep it from getting to thecritical point.

Volunteers from all walks oflife joined the group to searchfor more populations and to col-lect seed from a site facing im-

minent destruction. Since all the plantslocated at the rescue site were growingin the path of the bulldozer, researcherscollected as much seed as possible.

Oxley has been banking those seedswith time-honored methods: We sepa-rate the seeds from the fruit and try toget out all the gack, the garbage andthe plant material. Then we weigh themand dry them out in a desiccator untilthey reach a constant weightthatsgetting all the water we can, given ourcrude equipment. Then we put them inan aluminum foil package, seal themup with a iron we bought at a garagesale, and put them in a Kenmore chestfreezer at 18 degrees Celsius.

Now the group is hoping to iden-tify sites where the twistflower can berestored.

One Step Ahead for Texas Hill Country Wildflower

photocourtesyofFloOxley

Volunteers search for bracted twistflower plants.

Want to learn more about the imperiled

native plants of the Great American

Prairie and the Texas Hill Country?

Search the National Collection of

Endangered Plants online at

www.centerforplantconservation.org.

Eliot Paine, CPC Board Chairman, signs the MOU.


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network n

The Miami Rock Ridge is only a fewfeet high, rising above the coastalmarshes of the Atlantic to the east andthe swamps of the Everglades to thewest. Even so, its high enough to passfor high ground in low-lying SouthFlorida. There, a rich diversity of rareand endemic plant species flourished inthe pine rockland habitat. Unfortu-nately, this habitat has also historicallybeen singled out by humans to buildcities, farms, and orchards, and nowonly 11.4 percent of the original habi-

tat area remains undisturbed.Imperiled native plants of at-riskFlorida habitats like the pine rocklandsare getting help from the FairchildTropical Garden. Historically, therocklands were subject to naturally oc-curring fires, and the current lack of firedisturbance means that trees and shrubsare shading out understory species, likethe federally endangered tiny polygala(Polygala smallii). An experiment at aU.S. Coast Guard communications sta-tion may be able to demonstrate just

how important fire is to the survival ofthe plant, and whether mechanical re-moval of trees and bushes can be usedas a surrogate.

In 2002, trees and shrubs werethinned in four experimental plots, inwhat must have been a difficult under-taking it took an eight-man crewthree weeks to thin four 30-by-15 meterplots! Joyce Maschinski, conservation

ecologist at Fairchild, reportsthat the experiment may beabout to enter the next stage:Weve just gotten news fromthe Coast Guard that they dohave permission in place toburn a site. If we can get a burntreatment through, we cancompare the results to the me-chanical treatment. Research-ers will count the total numberof polygala plants and theamount of ground they cover,

as well as analyze the overalldiversity of species that springup in the wake of bush and treeremoval.

The preliminary results in-dicate that mechanical thinningtreatment plots did have an in-creased number of species, butit does not look like theres been muchchange in the abundance or cover ofunderstory plants, as of last year, re-ports Maschinski. The county is in-terested in this information because

they get a lot of pressure to do otherthings besides burning, but most eco-logical studies indicate fire is not eas-ily replicated.

Conservation botanists at Fairchildalso recently completed an experimen-tal reintroduction of the hoary pea(Tephrosia angustissima var.Corallicola), another pine rocklandsplant. What has been unusual aboutthis species is that it was growing in anarea that was cultivated for fifty years,and there arent any existing popula-

tions in undisturbed pine rockland habi-tat any more, Maschinski explains.We are testing what kind of micrositesmight be good for it. Using experi-mental groups of both cuttings andseeds, sites were established at a road-side, a forest, and a sandy, openmeadow.

Like the pine rockland habitat,Floridas coastal dunes suffer from de-

velopment and fire suppression. There,Fairchilds CPC botanists have con-ducted three experimental reintroduc-tions of beach jacquemontia( Jacquemontia reclinata). In one of

these experiments, plants were spacedout along a transect starting at the hightide line and moving further inland. Re-searchers aimed to discover which po-sition afforded the jacquemontia thebest survivability. It turns out the plantsthat are mid-distance, which is about 16meters from the high tide line, had thegreatest survival, reports Maschinski.Those closest to the ocean were affectedby a hurricane and got buried by sand,and the ones further from the ocean wereeaten by what we think were marsh rab-

bits, because in the taller hammock veg-etation further from the shore critters canhide easily. The plants will continue tobe monitored.

A whole different set of problemsplagues the Florida keys, low-elevationreef islands where rising salinity levels,rising sea levels, and an introduced mothspell trouble for dwindling native flora.

Dunes, Keys, and Rocklands: Rare Habitats, Rare PlantsFairchild Tropical Garden Makes Progress on Restoring Imperiled Flora

photocourtesyofJoyceMaschinski

Beach Jacquemontia (Jacquemontia

reclinata)

Continued on page 9

photocourtesyofJoyceMaschinski

Field Botanist Adrianna Muir consults with a

volunteer during outplanting of the hoary pea.


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ws & notesThese days, youd be hard pressed

to find a non-profit institution thats notworried about finances. But for botanic

gardens and arboretum that are sup-ported by state, city, or university funds,things are looking particularly grim.Plus, cuts to the federal Fish and Wild-life Service and other agency budgetswould limit the amount of money avail-able to help endangered and threatenednative flora. Together, these financialills spell problems for the imperiled na-tive plants that so desperately need ourhelp.

In the CPC network of participatinginstitutions, Nebraska Statewide Ar-boretum has perhaps been the hardesthit. As a public-private partnership be-tween the University of Nebraska-Lin-coln and a private nonprofit corpora-tion, the Arboretum relies on state uni-versity funds for half of its financialsupport. But as the state budget crisishit hard early this year, university chan-cellors were faced with difficult deci-sions and identified both the Arbore-tum and the Nebraska Forest Servicefor complete elimination of state fund-

ing. Then last month, in what Arbore-tum director Jim Locklear calls aneleventh hour reprieve, the state leg-islature voted to reduce the original cutto the university budget.

The decision reversal was, to say theleast, a huge relief. But unfortunatelyits hardly the end of the rainbow. Evenwithin the normal state budget, Arbo-retum funding had lost 15 to 20 per-cent over the past three years. It was asteady erosion, Locklear says. Eventhough weve survived this most recent

round, weve taken some cuts in previ-ous rounds.

This means a severe shortfall whenit comes to plant conservation. As theArboretum has been forced to retreatto a core program, theres been nomoney to fund a position focused solelyon plant conservation. Thats especiallyfrustrating to Locklear, who previouslyserved as the arboretums CPC conser-

vation officer and did much of the workto build up the ex situ samples of plantsheld by Nebraska in the National Col-lection. As director, Ive had to lookoverall at our institutional priorities andmake those decisions, which has beenpainful because conservation has beena huge part of who I am, he says. Wejust dont have the capacity to be engaged like we should be and we wantto be.

Similar problems plague the NorthCarolina Arboretum. There, manage-ment decided to institute a parking feeto compensate for funding cuts due toa statewide budget crisis. But conser-vation programs are getting little reliefand the single conservation position hasbeen frozen since the last conservationofficer left nearly two years agoWeve had to pull in to the limits ofour property, explains Alison Arnold

the Arboretums Director of Horticul-ture. So were just in a maintenancemode were not going out and col-lecting new seed, or propagating plantsfor restoration. We all have it in ourhearts; were passionate about it; butwe havent found the funding for it.

Institutions funded by municipalitieslike the gardens in Honolulu and San

Budget Crisis Hits Imperiled Native FloraCPC scientists in Hawaii are cel-

ebrating the change in management atWaimea Arboretum. As of June 26, the

arboretum has become the WaimeaValley Audubon Center, pledged toprotect, enhance, and interpret the bo-tanical, ecological, and cultural re-sources of Waimea Valley, accordingto the Audubon Society.

Its really a wonderful transition,says David Orr, formerly director ofthe arboretum. Orr will continue towork with the CPC plants at Waimea,along with Linda Bard, nursery man-ager, under the auspices of Audubon.A lot of us, including myself, were ina hopeless stew before the transition,Orr says. Now the valley is very peace-ful, and were far more motivated. Plus,were getting lots of community vol-unteers. All in all, this is very positivefor the collections of native plants.

These botanists have been collabo-rating with another Hawaiian CPC in-stitution to save an extremely vulner-able Hawaiian native that may well bethe rarest plant in the world: the Ha-waiian tree cotton ( Kokia Cookei).

When the tree cotton was first discov-ered in the 1860s, its numbers wereprobably already reduced due to the lossof nectar-feeding birds on the islands.Since then, it has teetered on the brinkof extinction in a remarkable story ofsurvival.

Extirpated from the wild in 1918, thespecies survived in only one cultivatedtree by 1934. Over 130 seedlings fromthat tree were planted on the islandsduring the next 20 years, but none sur-vived, and the species was thought to

be extinct with the death of the culti-vated tree in the late 1950s. In 1970 acultivated survivor was discovered atthe siteonly to be extinguished by fireeight years later.

Now, CPC botanists at Waimea andat Lyon Arboretum are working witha cutting taken from that last survivorto cultivate cloned plants that will be

High-Five in Hawaii

The North Carolina Arboretum maintains

the Appalachian avens (Geum radiatum)

in the National Collection, but lacks

funds for restoration projects.

Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9


8/12


After learning of Kayri Havens longlist of impressive projects, I expectedthis CPC botanist to be at least a littlestressed or strained. But after talkingwith her, I realized that Kay knows howto find fun and laughter even in her busyschedule. I guess shes following thevery advice she gives the students in herconservation courses: I tell them to follow their passions, she says, tohave a job where you get to do whatyou love. A leader in ex situ plant conservation, Kay collaborated with EdGuerrant of Berry Botanic Garden andMichael Maunder of Fairchild Tropi-cal Garden to edit the next CPC book,which will hit the stands in February,2004. In the meantime, heres a peek

into the life of one very busy conserva-tion botanist:Name: Dr. Kayri HavensPosition: Director, Institute for Plant

Conservation at Chicago Botanic Gar-den

Where are you from? Ive been aMidwesterner all my life. I grew up inChicago, went to school in Illinois andIndiana, and spent three years at theMissouri Botanical Garden before com-

ing here to Chicago.Educational back-

ground? Bachelors andmasters degrees inbotany from Southern Il-linois University; PhD inBiology from IndianaUniversity

What got you startedin plant conservation? Iwas always a plant-lover,from gardening andhouseplants when I waslittle all the way through.While I was pursuing my degrees, I al-ways envisioned doing something out-side of academia, working with a con-servation organization, and that was

unusual, especially to be choosing anon-academic tract. My three years atMissouri Botanical Garden reallyopened my eyes to what botanic gar-dens can do for plant conservation.

In 2002, the Institute for PlantConservation at Chicago BotanicGarden was publicly launched. Whatchanges did that bring? We were partof the research department, but then we became a separate institute. That al-lowed us to formalize our partnershipwith Loyola University, and we began

teaching college-accredited courses.They are typically six-week shortcourses that are taught here at the gar-den as part of our plant conservationcertificate program. There are eightcourses in all, and theyre focused onhow we can take theoretical informa-tion and apply it. We also offer two dif-ferent internship programs, one in part-nership with the Bureau of Land Man-agement. This is our second year withthe BLM project, so our first cohort ofabout 25 students have now finished

their positions, and four of them werehired on by BLM.

Why is education so important forconservation botany? I think we allfeel its important to reach the next gen-eration of plant conservation biologistsby getting involved in teaching at a va-riety of levels. In the federal agenciestheres a fairly well-documented short-age of plant conservation biologists, so

were helping them bring in people whohave that background in plant conser-vation.

What are some of your most in-

teresting research projects rightnow? In partnership with Mike Maun-der at Fairchild, were studying geneticdiversity inBrighamia insignis. Its anendangered Hawaii endemic with only15 or 20 individuals left in the wild, sothere may be more genetic diversity inthe individuals that have been main-tained in cultivation by botanic gardens,because many of those were collectedbefore the population got so small inthe wild. We wrote to botanic gardensall over the world, and obtained about

fifteen samples. All we need is a one-square inch piece of leaf because wereusing a DNA fingerprinting techniquecalled ISSR Inter simple sequencerepeat. The leaf is fixed in a desiccantsilica gel, and then we extract out theDNA and amplify it with a machinecalled a thermocycler. Its kind of likea Xerox machine for DNA! Weve ana-lyzed the samples, and we have founda fair amount of diversity. Now wellcompare that to the DNA in the wildpopulation, and if the diversity is not

as high, we could work with the Fishand Wildlife Service in Hawaii to de-termine if its appropriate to augmentexisting populations or to set up a sepa-rate population based on the plants inthe botanic gardens.

Ive also been studying genetic di-versity in Cirsium pitcheri, a threateneddune thistle of the Great Lakes. Were

Meet the Network:

Dr. Kayri Havens, Chicago Botanic Garden

Kay collects samples of dune thistle

(Cirsium pitcheri) at Indiana Dunes.

Continued on page 9photobyT.Antonio

Dr. Kayri Havens.photobyWilliamBiderbost


9/12


involved in a restoration project of theCirsium at Illinois Beach State Parkand weve been looking both at DNAvariation and quantitative trait varia-tion. That involves growing lots of in-

dividuals from several populations andcomparing things like leaf length andstem height. That helps us determinefor future restorations how far away weshould go to collect seeds, and fromhow many populations, in order to as-sure genetic diversity in the restoredpopulation.

Hardest part of your job: Jugglingall the projects, and making sure theyall get completed on time.

How do you stay sane and get itall done? I have great colleagues who

help a tremendous amount. We have awonderful team of people who all chipin to get the job done.

What inspires you? Definitely go-ing out and seeing intact natural areasis very inspirationaland the hope thawe can maintain areas like that for fu-ture generations.

What her co-workers say abouther: Kay is a quiet visionary. Shesnot one of those intensely passionatetalkative, out-there kinds of people, butwhat she has managed to do in terms of

implementing and growing a conserva-tion program at a botanic garden in sucha short time has been spectacular. Shesincredibly supportive and shes veryefficient. She understands both the aca-demic rigors but also the nuts and boltson-the-ground conservation work thatsnecessary to really implement conser-vation strategies. Dr. Pati VittConservation Scientist

Until last year, Florida semaphorecactus (Opuntia corallicola), a keysnative, was known from only a singlesmall population of twelve individu-als in very poor health. Luckily, a sec-ond population of 600 individuals hasrecently been discovered on anotherkey. Now researchers are using DNAfingerprinting to discover to what ex-tent the two populations are related,

outplanted to the wild as an experimen-tal stage of a restoration project. Theseclones, highly inbred, no longer pro-duce viable seeds, somicropropagationistNellie Sugii ofLyon has turned totissue culture tech-niques to produceseedlings from im-mature embryos.The trees flam-boyant red and yel-low flowers are afavorite in Hawai-ian botanical gar-dens.

Another endangered Hawaiian na-

tive, the loulu palm (Pritchardiaschattaueri), is getting a boost from Ha-waii Youth Conservation Corp volun-teers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,and CPC botanists at the Amy B.H.Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden.

Continued from page 8

Meet the Network

and how many individuals are presentin the new population. This researchcould guide future reintroduction ef-

forts, helping scientists decidewhether to use propugules from bothknown locations together, or sepa-rately.

Habitats throughout Florida arebeing developed, Maschinski says.Less and less remain. What weretrying to do is work with plants fromseveral habitats, both in the green-house and out in the field.


Budget Crisis

Antonio, are also feeling the crunch. Atthe last annual meeting we were the posterchild of despondency, reports San

Antonios Paul Cox. Weve had our CPCinternship open for three years. Due tocitywide belt-tightening, all garden positionsmust now be filled through a laborious ap-proval process that leads to long delays, Coxadds. In a word, Were still limping alongin a world of hurt.

Many other institutions have beentouched by financial hard times, with

funding reductions from city, state, orprivate sources. At CPC, were trying toovercome these low times by supportingplant conservation work in as many waysas we can. We are seeking and passingon new sources of funding and partner-

ships, and advocating for imperiled floraat the national level.

More than ever, we couldnt do it with-out our Friends, whose support contin-ues to provide valuable resources to im-periled flora. Your voice is important: letyour local and state leaders know that youcare about your regions at-risk naturaltreasures!

Theres only a single populationleft, with thirteen individuals, explainsPeter Van Dyke, the gardens manager.With the help of members of the Ha-

waii Native PalmSociety, seeds werecollected fromthose thirteen treesand grown in thegreenhouse forabout a year. Nowthe plants are bigenough to fill gal-lon-sized contain-ers, and about 300have beenoutplanted in three

sites around the island. The idea is to

get between eight and ten restoredpopulations, Van Dyke says.Want to see some of Hawaiis

beautiful native flora without leav-ing the mainland? Head for theUnited States Botanic Garden in

Washington DC, where 60 rare andimperiled island plants will take upresidence this fall. The exhibit, organized by the Kauai Native Plant So-ciety and titled Our Nations CrownJewels, will be open daily from August 28 to November 23. Several CPC participating institutions in Hawaihave contributed specimens to aweEast-Coasters and capital visitors.


Reasons To Celebrate in Hawaii

Kokia Cookei in bloom.


Florida Habitats

photocourtesyofWaimeaArboretumFoundatio

n


10/12


help by contributing to a plants sponsorship

in the CPC National Collection.

Want to learn more about plants in the na-

tional collection that still need sponsorship?

Browse our partial list below, or log on to

www.centerforplantconservation.org to

search by name, family, or state range.

There are many ways to help theCenter for Plant Conservation continueto recover Americas vanishing flora.Every gift counts and is important tous.

Unrestricted Giving: These are giftsthat CPC can use at their discretion.Funds are used where there is the great-est need.

Honorary and Memorial Oppor-tunities: You can choose to make yourgift in honor or memory of a friend orloved one.

Stock Gifts: As your financial advi-sor can confirm, there are advantages togiving appreciated stock directly.

Gift Friendships: CPC Friendshipsmake great gifts! A way to say you care,a gift Friendship can be sent for anyoccasion.

Plant Sponsorships: Plant sponsor-ships provide the needed funding to dothe hands on work for plants in theNational Collection

Our Friends and Donors are the back-bone of our native plant conservation

How you can help the Center for Plant Conservation recover native plantsefforts, providing the help we need torun a national plant conservation or-ganization. The Center for Plant Con-servation accepts gifts in the form ofcash, check, credit card, or transfer ofsecurities.

For more information, please contact:

Center for Plant ConservationP.O. Box 299St. Louis, MO 63166-0299(314) 577-9450or e-mail [email protected]

Nearly every state and U.S. territory has

plants in the national collection waiting for

full or partial sponsorship. Without sponsor-

ship, these plants may not get the care and

research they need to preserve options for

restoration. Many of these natural treasures

are dangerously close to extinction. You can

Imperiled Flora in Your Backyard

Alabama

Alabama anglepod

(Matelea

alabamensis)

Arizona

Santa Rita

yellowshow

(Amoreuxia

gonzalezii)

Arkansas

Sterns Medlar

(Mespilus

canescens)

California

San Bruno Mountain

manzanita (Arctosta-

phylos imbricata)

Colorado

Colorado Gentian

(Frasera

coloradensis)

Deleware

Swamp-pink

Helonias bullata

Florida

Beautiful pawpaw

(Deeringothamnus

pulchellus)

Georgia

Wild olive

(Forestiera segregata

var.pinetorum)

Hawaii

Manns gardenia

(Gardenia mannii)

Iowa

Christs Indian

paintbrush (Castilleja

christii)

Illinois

Sand dune thistle

(Cirsium pitcheri)

Indiana

Glade mallow

(Napaea dioica)

Iowa

Bulls coraldrops /

kittentails (Besseya

bullii)

Kansas

Prairie flame-flower

(Talinum

rugospermum)

Kentucky

Whorled horse-balm

(Collinsonia

verticillata)Louisiana

Louisiana quillwort

(Isoetes

louisianensis)

Maine

Estuarine monkey-

flower (Mimulus

ringens var.

(Eriogonum visheri)

Ohio

Canbys mountain-

lover (Paxistima

canbyi)

Oklahoma

Ouachita Mountain

goldenrod (Solidago

ouachitensis)

Oregon

Willamette Valleydaisy (Erigeron

decumbens var.

decumbens)

Pennsylvania

Long-hairy field

chickweed

(Cerastium arvense

var. villosissimum)

Puerto Rico

Palma de Manaca

(Calyptronoma

rivalis)

Rhode Island

New England

boneset (Eupatorium

leucolepis var.

novae-angliae)

chisoensis var.

chisoensis)

Utah

Navajo sedge (Carex

specuicola)

VermontGreen Mountain

maidenhair fern

(Adiantum

viridimontanum)

Virgin Islands

St. Thomas prickly-

ash (Zanthoxylum

thomasianum)

Virginia

Roan Mountain

sedge (Carex

roanensis)

New Hampshire

Boykins lobelia

(Lobelia boykinii)

New Jersey

Awned

meadowbeauty

(Rhexia aristosa)

colophilus)

Maryland

Piedmont bishop-

weed (Ptilimnium

nodosum)

Massachusetts

Barbed-bristle

bulrush (Scirpus

ancistrochaetus)

Michigan

American fern

(Phyllitis

scolopendrium var.

americanum)

Minnesota

Leedys roseroot

(Sedum integrifolium

ssp. leedyi)

Mississippi

Honeysuckle azalea

(Rhododendron

austrinum)

Missouri

Pygmy sword plant

(Echinodorus

parvulus)

Montana

Sapphire rockcress

(Arabis fecunda)Nebraska

Blowout penstemon

(Penstemon haydenii)

Nevada

Silver Lake buck-

wheat (Eriogonum

argophyllum)

New Mexico

Sacramento prickly-

poppy (Argemone

pleiacantha ssp.

Pinnatisecta)

New York

Southern arrowwood

(Viburnum dentatumvar. venosum)

North Carolina

Carolina spleenwort

fern (Asplenium

heteroresiliens)

North Dakota

Dakota wild

buckwheat

South Carolina

White-wicky

(Kalmia cuneata)

South Dakota

Barrs milkvetch(Astragalus barrii)

Tennessee

Tennessee milkvetch

(Astragalus

tennesseensis)

Texas

Chisos hedgehog

cactus (Echinocereus

photobySteveShirah

photobyJoyceMaschinski

photobyW.S.Justice ph

otobyLindaMcMahan

photobyMarjBoyer

photobyMichaelGardner

Washington

Frigid shooting star

(Dodecatheon

austrofrigidum)

West Virginia

Shale-barren

rockcress (Arabis

serotina)

WisconsinJacobs ladder

(Polemonium

occidentale var.

lacustre)

Wyoming

Porters sagebrush

(Artemisia porteri)

Sunflower Family


11/12


Stumped on what to give someonespecial to mark an important moment?For any gardener or nature-lover inyour life, there is a gift thats unique,lasting, and meaningful: sponsorship ofa plant in the CPC National Collectionof Endangered Plants in honor of this

wonderful person.In fact, sponsoring a CPC plant is a

lovely way to mark any number of oc-casions: birthdays, graduations, wed-dings, retirements, holidays, or yourown charitable giving. And, memorialsponsorships can help leave a lastinglegacy.

The National Collection is a bankof seeds, cuttings and other plant ma-terial from more than 600 of thecountrys most imperiled native plants.Botanists at CPC participating institu-

tions gather and catalogue these plantmaterials according to strict standardsdeveloped by CPCs scientific advisorycouncil.

The materials are then stored andmaintained in protective custody at theparticipating institution, preserving ouroptions for restoration. National Col-lection material is used to study the life

cycle and germination requirements ofthese rare treasures, and plants propa-gated from the collection are used bybotanists and researchers for private,state, and federal plant and habitat res-toration projects.

Your gift will endow a fund that pro-

vides secure, regular payments to theinstitution caring for the in-need plantyou specify.

For example, your sponsorshipcould help botanists collect seed in thefield to improve and expand collectionsfor greater security, provide periodictesting for continued germination vi-ability, or conduct research like study-ing the DNA of the plant materials intheir care to ensure that the full geneticdiversity of the species is represented.

Wed be happy to direct your dona-

tion to the plants in most critical con-dition, or you can browse our list tochoose a species from a plant familyor geographic region that holds specialmeaning for you or the recipient.

Fully sponsoring a plant is a signifi-cant contribution, but even if youre notable to donate at that level we welcomeyour gift to help finish funding for a

plant close to full sponsorship, or tostart a fund for an unsponsored plantIn either case, youll be able to trackthe progress of your plant as CPCbotanists work towards restoration in

the wild.Why not sponsor a plant to com-

memorate the birth of a new baby toyour family or circle of friends?Youll be welcoming the little new-comer with a promise and commit-ment to keep our nations natural trea-sures safe for him or her and forgenerations to come.

Give the gift that keeps on growing!The Center for Plant Conservations efforts are made possible

by the Friends of CPC. All Friends receive a complimentary sub-

scription toPlant Conservation, the CPC newsletter. Plus, Friends

will receive our new Friends benefits, with distinticive botanical

illustrations of the imperiled plants that your gifts support. The

benefits feature artwork by botanical illustrator Bobbi Angell.Please use the form below either to renew your support or

enroll as a new Friend. Your gift will contribute in an im-

portant way to the vital work of saving Americas most

imperiled plants.

$35 ............. Friends ....................4 notecards

$75 ............. Family Friends ........above and 3 magnets

$150 ........... Sustaining Friends ..above and canvas lunch bag

$250 ........... Benefactors .............above and 15 boat bag

$500 ........... Preserving Donors*

$1,000 ........ Conserving Donors*

$5,000 ........ Presidents Circle Donors*

*These Donors will receive periodic informational updates about the progressof the Center.

This is a gift membership for a new Friend. (Please list name,

address and phone number of recipient on the form at right.)

Please send this completed form and payment in enclosed envelope,

or mail this form to: Center for Plant Conservation, P.O. Box 299, St.

Louis, MO 63166

Enclosed is my check for $ _______________ made payable

to the Center for Plant Conservation.

Please charge my: VISA Mastercard

Card No.

Name on card

Expiration date

Please print your name as you wish it to appear in the newslet-

ter Honor Roll.

Your name

Friends name (if needed)

Address

City State

Zip Telephone

(Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Anonymous)

(Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Anonymous)

Your donation could help the endangered

Higuero de Sierra (Crescentia

portoricensis), a Puerto Rico native.

Plant Sponsorship Tribute Gifts: a Lasting Promise


12/12

P.O.Box299

St.Louis,MO63166-0299

NonprofitOrg.

U.S.Postage

PAID

St.Louis,MO

PermitNo.1039

Centerfor

Conservation

AddressServiceRequested

Plant Profile: Barbed-Bristle Bulrush

Barbed-bristle bulrush is currently

not sponsored. To sponsor or partiallysponsor this plant, please contactCPC at (314) 577-9450, [email protected].

Like many wetlands plants, the barbed-bristle bulrush (Scirpusancistrochaetus) is threatened by lossof habitat, water contamination, andchanges to hydrologic systems causedby damming or canalization.

This leafy member of the sedge fam-ily gets its name from the curved, pointed barbs found at the end ofbristles capping chocolate-brown flo-rets. During the late summer, thesedrooping flower heads give way to dry,one-seeded fruits about a millimeterlong.

But finding a barbed-bush bulrushin the wild is a tall order these days.With a range that stretches from theConnecticut River Valley of NewHampshire and Massachusetts south

to the interior of Pennsylvania, Mary-land, Virginia and West Virginia, thebarbed-bristle bulrush is only knownto exist in about 60 populations with

no more than a few dozenstems at most sites.

This federally endan-gered plant grows in stand-ing water up to 40 cm deep,along the edges of sinkhole

ponds, beaver ponds,sandplain depressions, backwater ponds in riverfloodplains, or boggymarshes. It seems to prefera substrate of sandstone orsand, as well as fluctuatingwater levels.

The New EnglandWild Flower Societymonitors populations in New England and hassuccessfully germinated both fresh

and dried seeds in the greenhouse.The barbed-bristle bulrush can beseen growing in the New EnglandWild Flower Societys Garden.

photobyWilliamLarkin

Documents

Summer 2003 Plant Conservation Newsletter