Sibbaldia - the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Journals)
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Guest Essay Global hosts and global pathogens: a perspective
Get PDFPlant species are assailed by a remarkable diversity of pathogens, and these and other pests pose a serious direct risk to collections in botanic gardens as well as a potential source of pathogen escape. The high diversity of species in gardens combined with low population numbers minimises the likelihood of disease spread of specialist pathogens, but importation of novel pathogens is a constant concern. In parallel with natural systems, there is little data on pathogen loads in botanic gardens, on what accession policies minimise these and if such loads are likely to differ by country of origin or plant life form. Nevertheless, commonsense measures such as prohibiting the importation of plants in soil, shifting to seed and in vitro propagation, and inspection and quarantine on receiving and transferring plants should be implemented.This edition of Sibbaldia explores a variety of directions for improving our ability to develop strategies for dealing not just with pathogen threats, but with a more rational approach to pests and to microbial interactions that are a natural part of a plant’s heritage
Conservation Hedges: : Modern-Day Arks
Get PDFIn May 2014, the first planting of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) conservation hedge took place, when the Reverend Anne Brennan planted a tree which had originated as a cutting from the ancient and historic European yew, Taxus baccata, in the churchyard of her church at Fortingall, Perthshire. This is one of almost 2,000 plants that will eventually form a conservation hedge of significant scientific and conservation value. The International Conifer Conservation Programme (ICCP), based at RBGE, has actively sought other opportunities to establish conservation hedges via its network of ‘safe sites’, using a range of different conifer species. This initiative is being driven by the potential for relatively large numbers of genotypes from a single threatened species to be stored in a linear space. It is well established that seed banks have a great capacity to store large amounts of genetic diversity, so we should simply consider conservation hedges in a similar manner. These super-hedges cram relatively large amounts of genetic material into a small space, capturing a great range of wild traits and potentially contributing to the restoration of wild populations. To date, conservation hedges have been planted at five separate locations at RBGE’s Edinburgh Garden as well as at four ICCP external ‘safe sites’. Although this article focuses on the establishment of conservation hedges using conifers, we have also highlighted some conservation hedges that comprise non-coniferous species
Biogeographical Principles in Horticulture : Creating an Erica and Fynbos Gardenn for Education and Amenity
Get PDFWith more than 780 species, Erica is the largest genus in the Core Cape Subregion, once referred to as the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), in South Africa. The redevelopment of the Erica Display Garden at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden to fulfil aesthetic, conservation and educational purposes is described. The author draws on decades of field work in the CFR to open a window for botanic garden visitors and schoolchildren who have not had the privilege of experiencing the unique flora of the CFR. An explanation for the extraordinary diversity of the CFR is explored.
The challenge of engaging with visitors and at the same time highlighting the diversity of ericas and fynbos while overcoming the difficulties of growing wild species out of their natural and niche habitats is explained. The most effective way to display South African ericas and fynbos is discussed. The use of phytogeographical themes is preferred as a suitable method to display diversity in botanic garden horticulture. Nine planting beds totalling 8,000 m2 were redeveloped to represent six distinct phytogeographic regions identified in Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (Manning & Goldblatt, 2012). Nineteen of the twenty largest families and genera of the Cape flora are also represented in these displays. Interpretation was created to provide information on the defining features of each region. The phytogeographic theme was used to emulate typical natural floristic features of each and to bring the concept of geographically driven plant diversity to the attention of the visiting public and students
The Role of Gardens in Integrated Conservation Practice: The Case of Conserving Quercus brandegeei in Baja California Sur, Mexico
Get PDFGardens and horticulturists play an increasingly important role in plant conservation, both in situ and ex situ. Integrated research and conservation of species intends to work across fields to connect science to conservation practice by engaging actors from different sectors, including gardens. The case of integrated conservation of Quercus brandegeei, a microendemic oak species in Baja California Sur, Mexico, is presented as an example of a collaboration between gardens and academic researchers to create a species-specific conservation plan that incorporates horticultural knowledge
How the Cultivation of Wild Plants in Botanic Gardens can Change their Genetic and Phenotypic Status and What This Means for their Conservation Value
Get PDFThe discipline of horticulture, growing and propagating plants under artificial conditions, has a centuries-long tradition and has developed into a vital industry of breeding, propagating and trading ornamental and wild plants around the globe. Botanic gardens have always been at the centre of horticultural training and have provided excellence and advancements in the field. In recent decades, botanic gardens have also become an active part of ex situ conservation activities by storing seeds of endangered wild plants, growing living collections for conservation purposes, or propagating plants for direct reintroduction measures. While this shift in focus has been necessary and very important, ex situ collections of wild plants have been criticised for beinggenetically impoverished, potentially hybridised with congeners, or adapted to the artificial garden conditions and potentially having lost specific adaptations to their original wild habitat. In this review, we provide an overview of these potential threats to wild plants in ex situ living collections and outline examples of how ex situ cultivation can affect genetic diversity, trait expression and adaptive responses of the plants. We evaluate what these changes could mean for the conservation value of the collections, and discuss how they could be avoided by refining horticultural practices. 
\u27Friends in Pots\u27 : Growing Bulbs at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
No full textA method of growing bulbous species with stones as companions to small bulbs is described and illustrated. Statistics for the number of taxa in the ten largest genera in the bulb collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are provided
Cities : : The Final Frontier for Endangered Plants?
Get PDFNow that more than half of humanity lives in cities, urban greenspace and Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) have never been more important. Although the health benefits and ecosystem services provided by urban greenspace are now widely appreciated, the potential for cities to provide refuges for native flora in general and threatened plants in particular, is not. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide an internationally agreed framework for tackling the world’s greatest challenges including the biodiversity crisis, climate change and the need to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This article explores the opportunity provided by these Global Goals for botanic garden horticulture to make cities havens for endangered plants and better places for people to live in. It identifies botanic gardens as the only organisations with the potential to overcome the barriers to conservation in the city
The Temperate House Restoration Project: Propagating Important Plant Collections for the Restoration of the World\u27s Largest Victorian Glasshouse
Get PDFThere is a long tradition at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG, Kew) of cultivating and displaying exotic plants from all over the globe, and the largest Victorian glasshouse, the Temperate House, traditionally showcases plants from temperate regions. The Temperate House Restoration Project was undertaken at RBG, Kew from 2012 to 2018. Over 1,000 species of plants were removed, propagated and replanted for this project, and this article describes the propagation of some of the most difficult to reproduce plant material. Four plant groups or species are presented: Erica verticillata P.J.Bergius, Quercus insignis M.Martens Galeotti, Pinus roxburghii Sargent and Banksia spp. L. This is in order to illustrate the variety of options available for propagating challenging species with attention to their ecology, biology and growing requirements.
Also provided are background information, reasons why these plants are considered difficult to multiply in cultivation, how plant material was sourced and the methods employed which led to successful propagation of the material at RBG, Kew. Propagation of the plants was heavily reliant on the horticultural expertise of those involved, and this expertise ensured that most of the original plant material was rejuvenated and new collections with scientific significance were added to the restored Temperate House
Style Guide for authors
No full textIf you would like to contribute to Sibbaldia please send a summary of the content of your proposed paper to [email protected]. Papers and short notes on the cultivation, conservation, research, botany (but not taxonomic botany), history, landscaping, legislation, management and curation of plants and landscapes in botanic and other gardens will be considered. All papers and short notes are accepted on the understanding that they have not have been accepted for publication or be under consideration elsewhere and that they will be subject to editing. All papers will be reviewed by independent reviewers. Authors are required to agree to the Creative Commons Copyright Notice in the online submission process. Authors for whom English is not their first language should have their papers checked by a fluent English speaker before submission. The suitability for inclusion of the paper in Sibbaldia rests with the Editor.A pdf of the paper and a copy of the final printed format will be supplied to authors free of charge