Lost and found: the Benmore and other Clydeside fernery buildings constructed by James Boyd & Sons of Paisley

Digital library searches undertaken by the author have recently uncovered a small but significant archive of information about the Benmore fernery, linking it to glasshouses and other contemporaneous fernery buildings in Scotland. It is now possible to verify the date of the original building to the early 1870s. Wider context and background details are provided by briefly exploring horticultural trends and architectural innovations from this period. Thereafter, the known Clydeside fernery buildings constructed by James Boyd & Sons are reconsidered, providing insight into unknown and previously missing details of the Benmore version.In 2009, from a ruinous condition, the Benmore fernery was the subject of a significant restoration led by a Glasgow-based team of conservation-accredited architects. Aspects of this practical work are summarised.The article concludes by exploring the wider topics of garden history and conservation and highlights the role of botanic gardens in promoting the sometimes overlooked value of garden heritage

The contribution of horticulture to the conservation of critically endangered Wollemia nobilis

After the critically endangered conifer Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine) was discovered in late 1994, an urgent task was to determine its cultivation requirements so that an ex situ population could be established. Propagation from extremely limited material was the first challenge, followed by development of a genetically representative ex situ conservation population. While the ex situ population was developed for insurance against loss of diversity in the wild population, it has also been used for research, and as the source of material for translocations, dispersed garden plantings and a botanic garden metacollection. Here, we report how these challenges were approached, based on nascent understanding of W. nobilis – as an Araucarian and as a rainforest emergent. As studies into the morphology and biology of the species progressed, these findings were used to refine propagation techniques. The establishment of this species in gardens around the world has expanded our knowledge of its biology and ecology. Insights concerning its behaviour in cultivation include its intolerance of extreme heat, extreme cold, high light and drought, and a preference for free-draining and acid soils – conditions approximating to its temperate rainforest origin. Now that these garden plants have begun to produce seeds, there is the opportunity for deeper research into factors influencing seed viability and plant establishment from seeds. This paper reviews many of the published studies aimed at understanding various aspects of W. nobilis biology, particularly those relevant to informing its requirements in cultivation. We also present data and conclusions drawn from unpublished studies which cumulatively aid efforts to conserve the species ex situ

Botanic garden profile: Rimba Ilmu (the ‘Forest of Knowledge’) at 50

Established in 1974 within the Universiti Malaya campus, the Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden is Malaysia’s first university botanic garden. Occupying nearly 60 ha in the Klang Valley, Malaysia’s most populated metropolis, Rimba Ilmu has evolved from an abandoned rubber plantation into a garden of 1,300 planted species, with many more spontaneously established. Unusually for a botanic garden, it eschews a formal flower garden aesthetic in favour of a tropical forest one: natural processes shape the Garden and its inhabitants alongside human-directed curation. As one of the last large green lungs in the Klang Valley, Rimba Ilmu provides essential ecosystem services to the city. The site houses the oldest and largest university herbarium in Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Herbarium (KLU), where 81,000 specimens are stored. Since the late 1990s, Rimba Ilmu has played a role in public environmental education, supported by facilities such as its Rare Plants & Orchid Conservatory and Rain Forests & Our Environment permanent exhibition. Rimba Ilmu has a community-oriented ethos. It has long supported the participation and development of volunteers, and continues to welcome collaborations with diverse partners. Holding on to a mission of research, conservation and education, Rimba Ilmu is part of the United Nations University’s Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development Central Semenanjung. In 2024, Rimba Ilmu celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of public events and a specially commissioned exhibition, Belukar dah jadi Rimba

The beauty of conservation – developing a science-based conservation horticulture programme at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA

While historically serving ornamental, medicinal and agricultural purposes, botanic gardens and arboreta have opened their doors to the public and have extended their missions to encompass the study, preservation and support of plant diversity. Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA, USA) has embarked on this journey, leveraging its scientific expertise to establish a conservation focus. Navigating this initiative with its strength in horticulture, the Longwood team outlines key steps in creating a conservation horticulture programme, emphasising the importance of (a) assessing horticultural competencies, strengths and existing infrastructure; (b)aligning systematic conservation priorities and global need; (c) amplifying impact through partnerships; (d) developing research initiatives and expanding mission-aligned work; and (e)leveraging audiences. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of collaborative partnerships, avoiding mission creep through maintaining a strategic focus and understanding that a continuum mindset is essential. Longwood’s work, focusing particularly on terrestrial orchids, illustrates how a public garden can use this process to result in a successful and strategic impact-focused conservation horticulture programme that supports plant diversity

The cultivation of Primula palinuri Petagna for ex situ conservation: lessons learned from the Royal Rotterdam Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Primula palinuri Petagna is an endangered species endemic to a tiny coastal area in southern Italy. Investigating the possibility of growing and propagating this endangered species with ex situ actions should be encouraged, as this could provide a second line of security for rare plants by allowing specimens to be grown in the absence of natural environmental challenges. Currently, the Royal Rotterdam Zoological and Botanical Gardens (RRZBG) hold 31 accessions of P. palinuri, which represents an ex situ collection with potential value for conservation programmes. Over the years, horticulturists at RRZBG have created a solid protocol to produce viable seeds through hand-pollination techniques, thus allowing conservation programmes for this species to become more effective. In this article the cultivation of the species is described, including information on seed germination, general maintenance, cultivation to flowering stage and propagation from the resulting seeds

Bringing Australia’s vulnerable Wittsteinia vacciniacea F.Muell. (Baw-Baw berry) into cultivation

Wittsteinia vacciniacea F.Muell. (Baw-Baw berry) is a vulnerable evergreen trailing shrub dating back over 70 million years, when Australia separated from Gondwanaland during the late Cretaceous period. It is the only species of Wittsteinia to occur in Australia, and one of four genera in Alseuosmiaceae. The Baw-Baw berry is restricted to a few mountainous populations of varying size and occupancy within Victoria. The fragrant flowers are attractive pendent yellow-red bells, and the globose fruit a greenish-red berry with persistent attractive calyx lobes. It is the combination of a trailing habit and floral features that make this species an ideal candidate for amenity horticulture. To test this, we collected plant material from five of the six known localities in Victoria and, using stem/cutting material with +/- Clonex® gel and either Jiffy® Plugs or a perlite/vermiculite mix +/- Clonex®, achieved 60.8 per cent root initiation overall. Greater root development was achieved using the plugs, and there were differences between root initiation and species locality. The hormone treatment proved unnecessary to ensure root initiation. To test germination response, seed was collected from Mt Baw Baw, which supports the largest population. Preliminary work on fresh seed indicated a high fill rate, determined by x-ray imagery, and a 90 per cent germination response at 20/15 °C with gibberellic acid (GA3). We explored the germination niche using a thermogradient plate and determined an optimal temperature of ~17 °C. Resulting vegetative and seed-based propagules have been incorporated into the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria living collection, as part of a broader ex situ conservation strategy. Further to this, using predictive modelling, we found areas outside this species’ current distribution that may be suitable for future plantings, ensuring the Baw-Baw berry’s survival beyond its current refugia

PlantNetwork\u27s Target 8 project: the survey stages

The aim of PlantNetwork’s Target 8 project is to involve botanic and other collections-led gardensthroughout Britain (and eventually Ireland also) to cultivate nationally threatened vascular plantspecies. In this way, if each garden were to ‘adopt’ 2–3 threatened species then the networkof British botanic gardens could collectively cultivate almost all of the 204 threatened speciesfound in Britain, and therefore fulfill the requirements of Target 8 of the Global Strategy for PlantConservation. However, before such a project could start, baseline information on the number anddiversity of threatened plants in British ex situ collections was required. Along with this, speciesdossiers compiling cultivation and conservation details were considered necessary for the successof the project. Furthermore, practical details of the project such as collection and representationneeded to be discussed with curators. This paper describes the background, survey work andpractical aspects of the project

Foreword

Editoria

The IDEA Center for Public Gardens: programmes empowering positive change

Public gardens as cultural institutions must be spaces that put human connection and a sense of belonging at the centre of the organization if they want to be relevant in an increasingly socially aware society. We have a responsibility to do better and right the harmful and exploitative wrongs of the past that continue to uphold systemic inequities. Public gardens can uplift communities around us and expand the identity of who we are and who we serve, without abandoning or shaming historical legacies.   The IDEA Center for Public Gardens™ (the Center) was launched January 2022 as a partnership between Denver Botanic Gardens and the American Public Gardens Association, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS MG-249862-OMS-21). Its aim is to empower public gardens to prioritize and champion diversity and inclusion initiatives within our industries and beyond. Living and working from the principles of IDEA can be an incredibly enriching and uplifting experience, and a journey to be celebrated. The Center does this by offering intensive peer-to-peer cohorts to develop practices, fund scholarships and speakers at conferences and symposia, and building alliances and partnerships to create collaborative unity across cultural institutions. A case study is included here describing how Naples Botanical Garden Florida incorporated IDEA principles into its annual theme for a year-round initiative to welcome new audiences and enhance staff inclusion in botanic garden activities. The Center is a call to action and an invitation to help improve the world one change at a time

STUDENT PROJECT Conservation of Zostera marina: evaluating the effectiveness of seed storage conditions for restoration

Zostera marina is a seagrass species that acts as an ecosystem engineer, creating biodiversity-rich habitats that offer important ecosystem services. The species is, however, in decline across its range owing to environmental change and anthropogenic impacts. Conservation work includes the use of seeds and shoots to restore seagrass meadows, although ex situ storage of Z. marina seeds is a small area of research and there is no one set protocol. This study investigated the effects of salinity and temperature on the maintenance of dormancy and viability of Z. marina seeds during cold storage. Seeds were stored at 1 °C and 4 °C, in a range of salinity solutions (20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 psu) over a period of 112 days. Results were collected by a velocity-based viability test at 28-day intervals, with seeds categorised as either viable, non-viable or germinated. Over the course of the storage period, results indicated that low salinities (20, 30, 40 and 50 psu) would exhibit premature germination during storage as well as loss of viable seeds at either temperature, while 60 and 70 psu groups have zero germinations and the highest viable seed number is found in 70 psu groups. Analysis revealed that overall temperature was only statistically significant in relation to viable seeds at 1 °C, suggesting that this is the better temperature to maintain viability. The study indicates that low salinity should be avoided for Z. marina seed storage; instead, a salinity solution of 70 psu at 1 °C storage for up to 4 months could ensure seed dormancy is unbroken and few seeds become non-viable. Overall, results from this study were used to create a simple storage protocol that could contribute to community-based restoration projects