The Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum said that they will partner on studies to help save canopy trees in Ecuador, orchids in Malaysia, and oaks in North and Central America.
The organizations announced last week that they would undertake the research to help halt extinctions and reverse declines among plants that are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species.
The Chicago Botanic Garden said that it will work with the Ecuadorian NGO Fundación Jocotoco and the Atlanta Botanical Garden to help restore populations of the endangered canopy tree Cucharillo, or Magnolia dixonii. The trees live in rugged areas, making seeds difficult to collect, so the Chicago Botanic Garden plans to study the diversity of stored seed collections and determine whether they are diverse enough to restore resilient populations.
Fundación Jocotoco said in October that the tree species had been upgraded to endangered from critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Botanic Garden also will work with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance on research into the preservation of the critically endangered orchid Stone’s Paphiopedilum, or Paphiopedilum stonei, which has sporadic blooms that rarely synchronize in small collections. The partners hope to find methods to extend the lifespan of pollen and prevent inbreeding.
As for the Morton Arboretum’s commitment, it plans to protect four oak species that are native to Mesoamerican cloud forests from the US-Mexico border to Panama. The organization is partnering with Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Botanic Garden and Instituto de Ecología (INECOL) in Mexico and Asociación Pronatura Agathos in Costa Rica, with support from Swiss conservation organization Fondation Franklinia.
Those partners will study characteristics of the high-altitude species Quercus delgadoana, Quercus hirtifolia, Quercus insignis, and Quercus meavei, which are threatened by harvesting, population fragmentation, and climate change. The groups will develop conservation plans, plant thousands of seedlings to reinforce native stands, and raise awareness about the importance of the species.
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