Plant Conservation Day and Iris Conservation Policy

---

Happy Plant Conservation Day!

 

Thanks to Paul Wiegman for sharing this information.  Here is some contact information plagiarized from the news release that Paul shared with the “PA_Wildflowers” list.  Sorry for the repeat to you folks but my friends on the Iris_species list may be unaware of this.

 

“Those interesting in finding out more about how they can be involved in Plant Conservation Day are invited to go to www.PlantConservationDay.org. The website is a "toolkit" for gardens and zoos, and outlines five activities to celebrate plant conservation. Highlighted activities include endangered plant walks, art and science activities for kids and families, and a plant conservation course for home gardeners.

The Association of Zoological Horticulture (AZH) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of zoo horticulture in zoological parks, gardens and aquariums (www.azh.org).

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) works to mobilize the botanic gardens and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the wellbeing of people and the planet. Established in 1987, it links more than 800 botanic gardens in 115 countries. The world headquarters are in England at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. BGCI's U.S. office is based at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, N.Y. (www.bgci.org).”

 

This seems like an appropriate occasion on which to spread the word about the Iris Conservation Policy adopted by the American Iris Society at their Board meeting in Minneapolis last fall.  You can find it on the irises.org site under member services buried in the minutes of the Minneapolis Fall Meeting.  As it is fairly short I will append it here.

 

                                        Iris Conservation Policy

The American Iris Society is dedicated to education, research, and conservation by promoting the understanding, preservation, cultivation, hybridization, selection, propagation, and appreciation of the genus Iris.  The AIS recognizes that there has been a rapid loss of plant species due to habitat loss, competition from invasive species, and overzealous plant collection.   To preserve Iris species, the Society will inform its membership and the public of potential threats to rare or endangered Iris species.  It will express its concerns about specific threats to relevant organizations and agencies, and offer assistance to mitigate threatening situations.  AIS will seek opportunities to collaborate with other organizations to determine and report the status of rare Iris species.

• AIS encourages efforts to protect wild habitats as the sources for genetic variations and naturally thriving plants, for generations to come.  We endeavor to collaborate with those organizations and individuals around the world that seek to identify and preserve important Iris habitats.  We support field and media education as effective means of instilling respect for natural habitats and awareness of rare Iris species.
• AIS supports the practice of knowledgeable individuals collecting seeds, cuttings, or divisions of wild irises for the purposes of growing, studying, selecting, hybridizing, and ultimately propagating and distributing to other growers.  We strongly encourage collectors to be aware that rare plants merit special consideration and should not be disturbed or propagules taken, unless there is sufficient local stock to successfully perpetuate the population.  In many cases this means minimal or no collecting.
• AIS encourages appropriate horticultural practices that result in effective containment of potential threats, whether they are pathogens or invasive organisms that could be introduced with an iris, or an iris itself, which could become invasive and disruptive if released into a particular foreign ecosystem.

Historically, unrestrained collection of wild plants has reduced many plant populations, occasionally to the extent of disappearance or even species extinction.  Similarly, casual horticultural practices have resulted in plants, including irises, becoming garden escapes and threatening habitat for vulnerable native species.  Given the challenges of human population pressure and ease of global trafficking in plants, commercial growers and gardeners must become more aware of, and responsible for their actions.

 

            As I observe the first blooms on wild I. pseudacorus  here along Slab Cabin Run with several colonies soon to bloom in Millbrook Marsh and downstream along Spring Creek, I have to wonder what management strategies we might devise here in PA and in the many other areas where this rather attractive plant is increasingly problematic.

 

George

 

George Hildenbrandt

145 Spring St.

State College, PA 16801

cellular phone:  814-571-6839

email:  grh3@psu.edu

farm: 4245 Lovers Lane

        Slatington, PA 18080

        phone:  610-767-2712

 .