Plant Collections Network

Plant Collections Network
Name	Plant Collections Network
Formation	1996
Type	Non-profit partnership
Headquarters	United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C.
Parent organization	American Public Gardens Association; United States Botanic Garden

Contents

Plant Collections Network

The Plant Collections Network is a cooperative initiative established to coordinate and accredit exceptional living plant collections among public gardens, arboreta, and botanical institutions. It links institutions such as the United States Botanic Garden, the Smithsonian Institution, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, and regional partners to promote conservation, research, and education. The Network emphasizes standards drawn from organizations including the American Public Gardens Association, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and the U.S. National Arboretum.

History

The program was created through collaboration among the United States Botanic Garden, the American Public Gardens Association (then the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta), and representatives from major institutions such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, and the Arnold Arboretum in response to concerns voiced at meetings like the International Botanical Congress and workshops held at the New York Botanical Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Early participants included curators and directors from the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution who sought to standardize practices once discussed at conferences such as the Botanical Society of America meetings.

The Network's mission aligns with mandates promoted by the Convention on Biological Diversity and plant conservation priorities set by the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Objectives include maintaining documented, well-curated reference collections for taxa threatened in lists produced by the IUCN Red List, supporting ex situ conservation programs modeled after approaches used at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, and fostering public access and interpretation similar to efforts at the United States Botanic Garden and the New York Botanical Garden.

Accreditation criteria were developed in consultation with specialists from the American Public Gardens Association, the Association of Zoological Horticulture (historical collaborators), and academic partners at institutions like the University of California, Davis and Cornell University. Member institutions range from municipal botanical gardens such as the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Denver Botanic Gardens to university-affiliated sites like the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and private estates like the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. The process uses peer review panels that include staff from the Smithsonian Institution and the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Standards require documentation practices comparable to herbarium protocols at institutions like the New York Botanical Garden herbarium and database systems used at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Collections focus on taxonomic groups ranging from genera curated at the Missouri Botanical Garden to region-specific assemblages found at the Arnold Arboretum and the San Diego Botanic Garden. Accessioning, propagation records, and permanence criteria reflect best practices advocated by the American Public Gardens Association and taxonomic authorities linked to universities such as University of Oxford and Harvard University.

Network activities include coordinated conservation campaigns modeled on the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, collaborative research initiatives with the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Botanic Garden, and public education programs similar to those at the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It facilitates plant exchange protocols used by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International network and hosts symposia akin to sessions at the International Botanical Congress and the Botanical Society of America annual meeting. Training workshops often involve staff from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and academic centers such as Cornell University.

Governance is a partnership model involving the United States Botanic Garden and the American Public Gardens Association with advisory input from curators at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Smithsonian Institution, and the New York Botanical Garden. Funding sources include grants from foundations that support botanical research such as the National Endowment for the Humanities (for public programs), philanthropic support similar to gifts received by the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, and institutional contributions from member gardens like the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Collaborative grant proposals have been submitted to agencies including the National Science Foundation and programs tied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Network has advanced ex situ conservation for taxa of concern listed by the IUCN Red List and coordinated collections that underpin research at institutions such as the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Arnold Arboretum, the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, the San Diego Botanic Garden, the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the United States Botanic Garden. Its standards have informed regional initiatives undertaken by partners like the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Smithsonian Institution gardens, and university collections at University of California, Davis and Cornell University, shaping conservation practice across North America.

Category:Botanical organizations Category:Plant conservation