National Collection protects plants from extinction

The Center's National Collection of Endangered Plants contains plant material for more than 600 of the country’s most imperiled native plants.

Seeds, cuttings and other plant material are collected and carefully maintained by botanical institutions that participate in the Center for Plant Conservation. Researchers and botanists at each participating institution collect plant material and seeds from the most imperiled plants in their regions. The institutions study and hold this material in protective custody. An important conservation resource, the Collection is a back up in case a species becomes extinct or no longer reproduces in the wild. The Collection is also an important resource for the scientific study of plant rarity, rare plant life cycles and rare plant storage and germination requirements.

After studying and growing the plants, institutions provide plant material to federal and state agencies and private land managing organizations to assist their efforts to recover imperiled plants in the wild. CPC participating institutions are involved in restoring more than 60 of America’s rarest plants in their natural habitat.

The Center continues to expand the National Collection. The Center estimates that an additional 1,000 U.S. plants need to be secured immediately in the National Collection.
You can sponsor a species in the National Collection. Income from sponsorships supports an annual payment to the CPC institution that cares for the sponsored plant.

Plant Profiles

Plant profiles of National Collection species were made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Chicago Botanic Garden, partnering with the University of Illinois – Chicago, coordinated the project. The Center’s participating institutions, located across the country, supplied content and photographs for the profiles.

Search the National Collection to learn more about the plants that the Center for Plant Conservation works with. View photos of the plants and discover where these plants grow and why they need our help. Each plant profile has a full bibliography and many include links to other web sites, such as W3 Tropicos, Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), and the PLANTS Database.
 
CPC Statement on Research Involving Rare Plants

The Center for Plant Conservation encourages ethical scientific research on the rare plants of the US. Research involving rare plants may be constrained by limited quantities of plant material. For this reason, the Center takes the position that research involving rare plants must not in any way threaten imperiled species or populations. Rather, research must be designed within an ethical framework that places conservation as the ultimate objective. If you wish to conduct legitimate scientific research on any of the plants listed on the CPC Web pages, please contact CPC by e-mail (cpc@mobot.org) or the conservation officer of the CPC participating institution responsible for the plant.