Center for Plant Conservation

The Center for Plant Conservation, its network of botanic gardens, and the National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation will collaborate to ensure better stewardship of rare plants in seed collections. Seed longevity will be tested in 100 rare and endangered plant species using a new biochemical indicator. Sixteen of the country's foremost rare plant conservation experts will re-collect and/or provide stored seeds for this project. The project team will create a predictive model to estimate seed storage longevity from plant traits, geography, and climate, and synthesize the results into curation guidelines as well as a workshop to share them with seed collections experts.