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Vision

Furnishing genetic raw materials and associated information to enhance American floricultural productivity to ensure a high-quality supply of herbaceous ornamentals.

Priority Genera

Current priority genera are Begonia, Coreopsis, Lilium, Phlox, Rudbeckia, and Viola species of commercial significance (primarily Old World).

Objectives

The following objectives define our functions in genebanking, research and develoment, and education and training:

• To establish an herbaceous ornamental plant genebank as an integrated component of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS)
• To build a network of cooperators from the horticultural industry, universities, botanic gardens & arboreta, USDA, crop specific societies and individual gardeners
• To establish a system that promotes industry oriented collaborative research to enhance germplasm utilization

Benefits

The OPGC benefits industry and consumers by preserving unique genetic material essential for present and future crops that:

• Are resistant to pests and disease
• Require fewer economic inputs
• Promote consumer-product appeal through expansion of crop diversity in form, color and fragrance
• May exhibit biological activity valuable to pharmaceutical, nutriceutical and agrochemical researchers