Sibbaldia - the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Journals)
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A new framework for horticultural research in botanic gardens and arboreta of the United States
Get PDFBotanic gardens and arboreta maintain globally important collections for conservation and education. Many organisations hold a reputation for excellence in propagation, cultivation and collection preservation. Learning from successes and challenges, and having the ability to disseminate that knowledge, is paramount for improving techniques and outcomes. However, the field of horticultural research is not well defined, and results of plant cultivation techniques are often only shared informally rather than published. This study was designed to explore how horticultural research practitioners perceive the field of horticultural research and excellence, how they and their institutions are involved, and what are the most urgent needs of future horticultural research among gardens and arboreta in the United States. An online survey was distributed to ascertain the status of horticultural research amongst the United States members of the American Society for Horticultural Science, the American Public Gardens Association, Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Interactive Community of Arboreta, Level II, III and IV members. The survey was completed by 128 respondents from 34 US states across 116 institutions. The responses highlight the fact that horticultural excellence is holistic – focusing on species conservation, ecology and pest mitigation. The findings also touch on the status and involvement of respondents in horticultural research and their perceived needs for future research. These responses further highlight challenges such as funding, time and personnel shortfalls. Horticultural research also includes an emphasis on practical approaches, requiring better recognition and sharing methods. The findings introduce a new framework to support the horticulture community in conceptualising, communicating and implementing research. This framework proposes that horticultural research can be broadly categorised into two overarching approaches: practical and technical
GUEST ESSAY Conservation Horticulture is not a programme – it is THE programme
Get PDFConservation Horticulture (1) is an essential, central aspect of modern botanic garden culture and operations, (2) cannot be separated from botanic gardens and (3) produces positive outcomes in every other programme with which it intersects. Here, given the inseparable nature of each, a definition for Conservation Horticulture is provided along with an aligned definition of Botanic Garden. The concept of Conservation Horticulture is illustrated with examples
Foreword to No. 24
Get PDFThe range of topics covered by papers published in volume no. 24 demonstrates the significance of botanic garden horticultural knowledge, research and facilities for conservation and understanding the world of plants. There is a theme of conservation horticulture running loosely through many of the papers. The prevalence of this theme, which was not an intentional editorial decision at the outset of the volume compilation, illustrates the prominence that the term ‘conservation horticulture’ has rightly gained in our botanic garden community
Lost and found: the Benmore and other Clydeside fernery buildings constructed by James Boyd & Sons of Paisley
Get PDFDigital 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
STUDENT PROJECT An investigation into the components of conservation horticulture projects
Get PDFTargets have been set within the Global Biodiversity Framework to increase in situ and ex situ conservation activities to address the biodiversity crisis and impacts of climate change. This paper highlights the horticultural skills and facilities held in botanic gardens that can make an essential contribution to these conservation activities and that are often termed ‘conservation horticulture’. Previously published research identified a lack of cohesion in the use of this term. This research seeks to explain the reasons for this through analysis of both previously published data and new data. New data presented was collected through semi-structured interviews with practitioners involved in conservation horticulture programmes in Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Key findings include the need for an understanding of conservation and horticultural principles, and the importance of research, teamwork and communication to deliver conservation horticulture projects. A theme map of the findings is presented as are factors to be considered when planning conservation horticulture projects
The contribution of horticulture to the conservation of critically endangered Wollemia nobilis
Get PDFAfter 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
Get PDFEstablished 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
Get PDFWhile 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
PlantNetwork\u27s Target 8 project: the survey stages
No full textThe 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
Bringing Australia’s vulnerable Wittsteinia vacciniacea F.Muell. (Baw-Baw berry) into cultivation
Get PDFWittsteinia 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