We are pleased to announce that four collaborative projects have been awarded funding this year through our Association’s Tree Gene Conservation Partnership with the US Forest Service. These scouting and collecting trips target the following threatened species in the wild: Quercus oglethorpensis in Mississippi and Louisiana, Quercus arkansana and Aesculus parviflora from the Coastal Plain, Ochrosia kauaiensis in Hawaii, and Quercus acerifolia endemic to four counties in Arkansas.
The goal of this partnership is to establish living gene banks of US at-risk tree species, by collecting seed from across its native range to capture broad genetic diversity then distributing propagules to public gardens for safeguarding in ex situ collections. Efforts focus on taxa native to US forests which cannot be conserved through traditional seedbanking methods. Matching funds support scouting and collecting trips, propagation, and distribution of propagules.
Click here to learn more about this partnership.
About this partnership:
The American Public Gardens Association is partnering with the United States Forestry Service’s Forest Health Protection to establish living gene banks of US tree species at risk, by collecting plant material from across its native range to capture broad genetic diversity, then distributing propagules to public gardens for safeguarding in ex situ collections. The current partnership includes funds to support scouting and collecting trips, propagation, and distribution of propagules.
