Repatriation of Rhododendron Plants to China

A Darwin Initiative grant awarded to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1994 gave the opportunity to train some Chinese horticulturists and repatriate a number of rhododendrons back to China from the Garden in Edinburgh. The Chinese partners in the programme were Hua Xi Alpine Botanic Garden and Guizhou Botanic Garden. The initial stages of the project involved training and the selection of suitable species. Following some trials and discussion about possible genetic contamination of native populations from imported material, work on propagating the plants started. Once rooted the plants were packed and transported to China. Following site preparation the young plants were planted in nursery beds. Two hundred and thirty plants, representing almost 100 species, were planted. Of these more than 80% established successfully. Seed was also collected in China from small populations of endemic species of rhododendron to include in the project. The final stage of the project involved help with garden design at Hua Xi

Cultivation Techniques for Six Alpine Taxa

Brief descriptions and cultivation techniques are given for six alpine taxa — Androsace tapete Maxim., Daphne cneorum L. var. pygmaea.Stoker, Helichrysum montanum DC., Lilium souliei (Franch.) Sealy, Primula dryadifolia Franch. and Stellera chamaejasme L

Foreword

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The Role of Botanic Gardens in Species Recovery :: The Oblong Woodsia as a Case Study

A translocation experiment to reintroduce the rare fern Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R.Br. to former sites in England and Scotland is described. The demands of this kind of conservation work brings the work of scientists and horticulturists together. High losses of transplants are to be expected and in order to gradually build up populations in the wild, translocation programmes may have to adopt a multi-phased approach. The facilities at botanic gardens are well suited to this type of conservation work

Introduction

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A New Approach to Targeting Verifications at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Verification is the process of identifying and accurately naming the plants in the Living Collections. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has had a well organised system for verifying plants in place for many years but, despite this, only 26% of the Living Collections has been verified. The process is slow and time consuming and is biased towards groups and geographical areas in which Garden staff have a research interest. In the last two years, however, a new, more targeted approach to verification, to run in tandem with the existing system, has been developed that is more timeefficient. With this approach herbarium material is collected for each accession and the whole group is verified in one intensive session. Trial runs have been conducted on Alnus and Acer to great effect and further tests are being conducted on Mahonia and Spiraea

An Introduction to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

The background to, and development of, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation is described and the agreed global targets for 2010 are listed. The 16 targets are arranged in five groups as follows: understanding and documenting plant diversity, conserving plant diversity, using plant diversity sustainability, promoting education and awareness about plant diversity and building capacity for the conservation of plant diversit

The Management of \u27Ad Hoc\u27 Ex Situ Conservation Status Species at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh :: A Review of Options

Ad hoc\u27 conservation status species refer to IUCN-listed plants that have been collected by botanic gardens for no immediate conservation objective. They differ from so-called conservation collections, which have usually been collected with very specific conservation objectives in mind. Information was collected for 53 ad hoc conservation status species in the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). Each species was assessed for its potential value for conservation and suggested action points to improve their management for possible conservation projects in the future were given. Discussions were held with various members of staff about the current and future management of threatened plants in the collections. In common with other botanic gardens the majority of the ad hoc collections of conservation status plants at RBGE have been acquired in very small numbers, usually as one accession, frequently of cultivated origin and therefore possess little genetic diversity. Current conservation programmes for such plants are few in number and scope, and the management potential of a large number are limited. More emphasis should be placed on the educational role of these plants and on a focused programme to safeguard the survival of the most threatened species at RBGE