Sibbaldia - the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Journals)
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Barcodes are Dead, Long Live Barcodes! : Improving the Inventory of Living Plant Collections Using Optical Technology
Get PDFThe use of barcodes for record keeping in botanic gardens has been pioneered before, but attempts have not always been successful. It has even been claimed that, for use in living collections, barcodes are altogether obsolete. This is difficult to imagine given the success of barcodes in almost any professional logistic or auto-ID application. We have tried to find the ‘sweet spots’ of barcode use and have implemented the technology at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. Integrated with the list-making functionality in the collection management software, barcodes have proved to be an invaluable tool in improving the quality and accuracy of the inventory
Deer Damage to Woody Plants : the Benmore Solution to Damage Limitation
Get PDFDeer damage to plants within gardens is a common and widespread problem. Gardens adjacent to habitats with natural deer populations are particularly at risk. This paper provides a brief history and description of various types of deer damage frequently encountered at Benmore Botanic Garden on the west coast of Scotland. Thereafter follows a summary of a localised plant protection system, which has been developed through much experimentation over the last few years, to reduce deer damage to woody plants throughout the Garden
Effects of Pre-Treatment of Gibberellic Acid Solution on Musa sikkimensis Seeds
Get PDFMusa sikkimensis Kurz (Musaceae) is one of the most popular banana species in the western world. It is near-hardy, surviving temperatures down to 0°C, but its propagation and cultivation are little researched. This study investigates the effects of gibberellic acid treatment on germination of Musa sikkimensis seeds. Enhanced germination rates will offer nurseries, botanic gardens and amenity growers the opportunity to increase their cultivation success. The findings are compared with those of other Musa species
Ex Situ Propagation of Philippine Rafflesia in the United States: Challenges and Prospects
Get PDFThe large-flowered parasitic genus Rafflesia R.Br. (Rafflesiaceae) has long fascinated naturalists and scientists and is an iconic symbol for plant conservation. Techniques to effectively propagate members of the genus outside of their natural habitat are sparse, and grafting infected Tetrastigma K.Schum.(Vitaceae) host plants has previously been reported as a successful strategy for ex situ conservation of Rafflesia. Here we report our attempts in the United States to propagate host cuttings infected with Rafflesia speciosa Barcelona & Fernando and R. lagascae Blanco collectedfrom the Philippines, as well as uninfected host material. We also describe efforts to germinate R. speciosa seeds in vitro using various plant growth regulators (PGRs). After rooting, infected host cuttings survived for a maximum of 11 months, but did not produce shoots. However, an uninfected cutting of T. cf. magnum grafted onto an established Malaysian species of Tetrastigma in June 2017 has succeeded in the commencement of new growth. Three propagules of a second potential host, T. harmandii Planch., have also been vigorously growing at the United States Botanic Garden since June 2017. However, Rafflesia seeds did not germinate with the application of PGRs, even though the seeds were viable according to tetrazolium (TZ) testing.These ex situ propagation attempts have revealed challenges in propagating these species outside of their native ranges, but our incremental success in rooting infected Tetrastigma, as well as grafting interspecific Tetrastigma species, bodes well for further advances. With Philippine host species, T. harmandii and T. cf. magnum in cultivation, we can begin using these specimens for future experimentation involving grafting of infected material and Rafflesia seed inoculation trials.Furthermore, we describe new avenues of propagation techniques for Rafflesia as practised by Marius Gabin, one of the owners of the Vivian Rafflesia garden, which contains a natural Rafflesia forest habitat at Poring Springs, Sabah, Malaysia. Gabin openly shared his successes in artificially inoculating Rafflesia seeds into a mature Tetrastigma vine. Gabin’s willingness to share his experience highlights the importance of collaborating with practitioners who have developed local knowledge of Rafflesia horticulture and conservation
Maintaining and Managing the Diversity of the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh :: a Personal Perspective
Get PDFIn a botanic garden it is the record-keeping, the labelling and the facility to trace the lineage of individual plants that sets it apart from other gardens. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has a rich and diverse Living Collection of plants. It is important that visitors, staff and students have access both to the collection and to this information. One definitive way to achieve this is to promote the seasonal interest found in the Collection through images and descriptions. This paper contains a selection of colour images, descriptions and a discourse on the diversity of the Living Collection and its future management. In it, the importance of plants and their place in the institution of RBGE is highlighted and the author looks forward to the changing social, economic, technological and environmental conditions that will affect management’s capacity to develop and maintain the collection as the 21st century advances
The United States Botanic Garden in Washington, DC
Get PDFThe United States Botanic Garden (USBG) was initially established in 1820, though a tumultuous beginning did not allow it to become a permanent institution until 1850. Nevertheless, it is one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America and one of the most visited. This article provides a brief history of the USBG and an overview of its operations and collections. With its centrallocation in a major US metropolitan region and free entry to visitors, the USBG has a strong focus on visitor services, experience and education. Approaching its 200th year, the Garden is well poised to play a leading role in exciting the American public about the importance of plants to humankind
Considerations for Commercial Plant Introduction From Public Gardens
Get PDFPublic gardens can benefit from the introduction of new plants to the horticulture industry. There are many ways to develop and discover new plants in the public garden setting, whether it be through plant breeding, exploration or simply discovering a sport or mutation. The characteristics of plants suitable for the commercial display industry include short time to flower, no day-length requirement, easy and fast propagation, natural branching and inherent short height. Over the last 20 years, the process of plant development and introduction has changed enormously. Now, elements such as strong brands and marketing campaigns, plant patents or plant breeders’ rights, trademarks and the ability of a new plant to thrive in mass production settings are important considerations when making a new plant release. In addition, public gardens must evaluate potential commercial partners to ensure that they get the maximum benefits from the process. This paper describes that process and gives recommendations for some of the key stages with reference to plants released by Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia
How Not to Overwater a Rheophyte : Successful Cultivation of \u27Difficult\u27 Tropical Rainforest Plants Using Inorganic Compost media
No full textMany herbaceous plants native to Malesian perhumid tropical forests are difficult to cultivate long term in traditional (peat, coir and bark) compost mixes. As a result, many appear to be underrepresented in ex situ living plant collections. Under the leaf-litter, lowland rainforest soils are typically surprisingly low in organic content (< 2%) and many of the smaller forest-floor-dwelling plants exist mainly on steep slopes of bare mineral soils with limited leaf-litter cover. By adopting purely inorganic compost media and placing pots in trays of water the wet mineral soils of their natural habitats are replicated and the plants can be cultivated long term with notable ease. The use of wholly inorganic media reduces the incidence of root rot to such an extent that it is suggested that they should be used more often for the cultivation of slow-growing taxa from other regions which are often considered to be ‘difficult’
Cavendishia Lindl.: Treasure From the Lands of the Alien Space Gods
Get PDFThis paper provides an introduction to some of the plants of the genus Cavendishia Lindl. [Ericaceae] grown under glass at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and their collection from the wild with notes on cultivation. An overview of specimens currently held in the Herbarium at Edinburgh (E) is also included