Plant Rescue Center Program
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) is an agreement among the countries of the world to document and regulate international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants in order to ensure that uncontrolled trade does not threaten their survival. Occasionally, plants transported across international boundaries without required CITES permits are confiscated by border authorities. If plants cannot be sent back to their country of origin, they are placed into a Plant Rescue Center, which agrees to maintain and care for them in perpetuity. The Plant Rescue Program was established in 1978 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency in charge of implementing the requirements of CITES in the United States.
The United States Botanic Garden is one of 62 botanical gardens, arboretums, zoos, and research institutions that participate in the Plant Rescue Center Program. Hundreds of protected and threatened plants, mostly orchids and cacti, have been accepted into the USBG collections through the Plant Rescue Center Program and used for conservation and education programs. For an example of how the USBG contributes to plant conservation using plants obtained through the Plant Rescue Center Program, click the Paphiopedilum vietnamense Orchid Conservation Program link on right.
