Plant evaluations for living roofs in Auckland, New Zealand

An extensive living roof is constructed with load bearing structures with a deep layer of soil media that supports a range of plants. Living roofs have environmental benefits, particularly in an urban setting, such as slowing water runoff and promoting evapotranspiration. Auckland Botanic Gardens (ABG) has been trialling different native and exotic plant species on living roofs to identify top performing plants for these unique growing conditions. The living roofs at ABG were constructed and planted in 2010, so after 10 years of observations, we are able to provide plant lists of what has worked well, challenges with the type of roofs we have, and the adventive species observed

Foreword

With thanks to reviewers of papers in this volume: Ted Chapman, Alan Elliott, Dusty Gedge, Suzanne Hermiston, Rebecca Hilgenhof, Ben Jones, Phil Lusby, Clare Morter, Katherine O’Donnell, Michael Pirie, David Rae, Fred Rumsey, Paul Smith, John Wood, Ella May Wulff and anonymous reviewers

The historic greenhouses of the Greifswald Botanic Garden (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany) – rescued in the nick of time

The historic greenhouses of the University of Greifswald, built between 1884 and 1886 and covering an area of almost 300 m², are characterised by their riveted frame construction typical of the era. After almost 130 years of uninterrupted use, they were briefly on the brink of collapse in 2014 because damage caused by corrosion had reached a critical level. The State Monument Preservation Office campaigned strongly for the greenhouses, so that the university, with the support of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and other sponsors, was ultimately able to successfully carry out the restoration. The costs are expected to amount to around €4.3 million. The construction work undertaken on the tropical, palm and cycad houses guarantees that valuable plant collections will be preserved and that more extensive growth phenomena and ecological relationships can be demonstrated in the future

Publication Ethics Statement

The document provides the detail of Sibbaldia\u27s Publication Ethics Statement including links to relevant publications organisations and references to key documents.&nbsp

SHORT NOTE Propagation of Bambusa vulgaris: a simplified method for use in display glasshouses

Horticulture staff at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have experimented with the propagation of Bambusa vulgaris by planting pieces of stem directly into the bed in which the plant is to grow. The success of the method means that both transportation time and space are saved by removing the stage where these large propagules are in the propagation unit

Establishing the National Seed Bank of Wales: Collecting, Conserving and Restoring the Welsh Flora

Seed banks are an efficient method of ex situ plant conservation, capable of conserving vast genetic diversity within a small space. In 2018, the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW) started on a journey to establish a new seed bank focused on conserving the Welsh flora to expand its native plant conservation activities. Now equipped with facilities allowing professional long-term seed conservation within two lab spaces in NBGW’s Science Centre, the National Seed Bank of Wales has become a valuable resource for plant conservation and research in Wales. This article describes how the new seed bank has evolved and how it operates, which may inform other small-to-medium size botanic gardens looking to develop seed collecting and banking activities. When based at a botanic garden, seed banks are an excellent resource uniting the horticultural, scientific and educational expertise of staff. Wider benefits beyond long-term seed conservation include improving short-term storage methods of seed grown by the horticulture department for conservation and display; and training horticulture and science students. An associated trial of harvesting and marketing seed from NBGW’s wildflower-rich hay meadows for restoration purposes has also proved successful and commercially viable, helping to fund our conservation activities

Where have all the heathers gone?

Heathers have been cultivated for several centuries, both the hardy heaths (Calluna, Daboecia and Erica) from the northern hemisphere and the more frost-tender species of Erica from southern Africa known as Cape heaths. In the late 19th century, a number of heather gardens were created, especially in Britain, and the popularity of heathers as long-lasting garden plants reached its zenith in western Europe and temperate North America in the late 20th century. At about the same time, deliberate breeding and selecting of Calluna vulgaris (ling) for flowers that lack normal sexual parts and remain bud-like led to a revolution in heather production with tens of millions of these bud-bloomer Calluna propagated each year for an ephemeral trade dominated by throwaway plants. Concomitantly, the diversity of hardy heathers offered by the trade has declined sharply with a small number of artificially raised clones, protected by plant breeders’ rights, now dominating the market. In contrast, the discovery of living lineages of a few Erica species that are extinct in the wild in South Africa has led to successful reintroduction programmes, particularly of Erica verticillata. The Erica Conservation Consortium, inaugurated in 2020, aims to coordinate and prioritise ex situ conservation of endangered Cape heaths

STUDENT PROJECT Missing Maddenia: A review of Rhododendron subsection Maddenia at Logan Botanic Garden

Rhododendron subsection Maddenia has long been cultivated at Logan Botanic Garden, an outpost of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (RBGE). It is noted in RBGE’s Collection Policy as one of Logan’s representation themes. Half of RBGE’s Maddenia accessions grow there outdoors in the relatively mild climate that suits these tender plants. It was known that Logan’s collection did not represent the entire Subsection. Therefore, this study’s aim was to investigate how completion might be achieved. Existing literature and known specialists were consulted to compile a list of taxa, although this remains unresolved. Using RBGE’s BG-BASE data and an observational survey of Logan’s living collection, it is suggested that 24 taxa may be absent from the collection. Their native occurrence, ex-situ cultivation and IUCN Red List criteria were researched. Using this information, a simple value system was created in order to prioritise acquisitions that might best serve conservation. This article is abridged and revised from the author’s specialist project, completed in candidature for the HND Horticulture with Plantsmanship

The need for horticulturist expertise in plant conservation: challenges and opportunities

As many as 40% of the world’s plant species are currently threatened with extinction, and botanic gardens have an important role to play in restoring habitats and supporting plant species recovery in situ. Specialist horticultural skills are essential for proactive plant conservation and management. However, there are a number of impediments to deploying horticultural expertise where it is needed the most, including lack of information about which species and recovery programmes need expertise, where that expertise can be found, and institutional or practical impediments such as availability of time and funding. In this paper, the author presents details on tools and resources developed by Botanic Gardens Conservation International designed to engage and support the participation of horticulturists in plant conservation. &nbsp

Candide and Botanical Software: technology cultivating garden visitation and collection management

Abstract It is clear that the biodiversity crisis and overarching threat of climate change are having a fundamental impact on the biology of the planet. Botanic gardens, and related institutions, are uniquely positioned as centres of expertise in plant biodiversity. Their efforts in the exploration and documentation of biodiversity are also a fundamental prerequisite for the conservation of plants. The systematised and structured documentation of a garden’s collection of plant material, together with the collection policy and overall mission, characterises an institution as a botanic garden. However, the currently available tools and processes are not cost-effective, accessible at a global level, and do not provide the necessary efficiency for the needs and workflows of botanic gardens and plant collection management. In the context of gardens and visitation, there is also a growing disconnection between people and plants, particularly in an increasingly urbanised world. Here, we present numerous innovative initiatives towards tackling these challenges, assisted by technology. We discuss the application of machine-learning in the automatic identification of plants (including composite tools such as Augmented Reality), and digital engagement through mobile-based complementations to visitors’ experiences. We also explore the documentation of quality data for botanical collections, and how advancements in collection management systems will play a major role in the efforts of the botanic garden community, and use of their richly-diverse plant collections in the vanguard of research, conservation, education, and visitation. Thus, ongoing technological developments in tools for botanic gardens and their visitors, present positive and influential contributions in tackling global challenges associated with plant conservation and engaging the broadest and most diverse audiences