Endangered plants project

Hi Everyone,


I am came across a plant that I found very interesting to me. It is an endangered plant that used to be all along the shores in Bay Area. I decided to try and grow the scrub (which I am doing), and will plant out some of the plants. The plant is California Sea Blite.

I looked around, and there is not much work being done to help endangered plants. In all honesty it is pretty much non-existent. If any of your are interested, I would love your help. I know there is concern of the government approaching on your land, especially if they here that you have endangered plants on your property. I found this article that I thought might be useful.  Endangered plants We could grown the plants in pots then plant them in locations in where they are known to grow, and not on our property.

I setup up a website to mark the locations of plants being grown. If you look at California you can see the plant I am growing. e plant collective I would love to hear everyones thoughts, and would love your help to get this project going.

What I am asking you to do.

1. Find a list of plants near you.
2. Located and identify the plant you are going to collect from and try and protect/save.
3. Collect seeds or cuttings from the plant.(Only what you need to get started)
4. Contact me with the plants name and location of the plant. (This can be where you plant to plant it out)
5. Care for and plant out the plants when they are ready.

I would love to see this project get going, and would greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Josh


 

In California there are quite a few rare and even endangered plants grandfathered into the horticultural trade. A few years ago I was in Santa Barbara and was growing all the Berberis nevinii I could purchase and had plans to propagate more. It can be bought completely legally.

Some other species are quite protected when rare. I would recommend joining forces and volunteering with an organization doing rare plant increase legally. The institute for applied ecology is one such. They have done significant increase of a rare paintbrush in Oregon.

Here the Montana native plant society has done some work with Spalding's Catchfly.

On the other side of the continent, American Chestnut has mostly been extirpated due to the chestnut blight, however a few blight resistant trees and stands still exists throughout their original range.
Hazelnut and Paw-Paw are very difficult to find here as well...

In California there are quite a few rare and even endangered plants grandfathered into the horticultural trade. A few years ago I was in Santa Barbara and was growing all the Berberis nevinii I could purchase and had plans to propagate more. It can be bought completely legally.

Some other species are quite protected when rare. I would recommend joining forces and volunteering with an organization doing rare plant increase legally. The institute for applied ecology is one such. They have done significant increase of a rare paintbrush in Oregon.

Here the Montana native plant society has done some work with Spalding's Catchfly.

Hi William,

Thanks for your reply. I am familiar with some of the organizations you suggested. I like what they are doing, but lot of them are trying to do to much. At least in this area a lot of their main focus on removing the non-native species. There also seems to be a lot of red tape, and the events they have are fun, but you don't really feel like you changed much. I want something for someone like myself who does not have a lot of time, but wants to help. I though it if one person focused on one plant it, and would be a way for someone to give back to the area.

On the other side of the continent, American Chestnut has mostly been extirpated due to the chestnut blight, however a few blight resistant trees and stands still exists throughout their original range.
Hazelnut and Paw-Paw are very difficult to find here as well...

Hi Donald,

I have heard a little bit about the chestnut issue. I would love to read more about the resistant trees stands. Do you have any links for this?

Thanks,

Josh

I was toying with a similar idea. If every gardener adopted a rare plant to propagate and plant then there would be exponential increase in the species richness. They could share on various websites and NGO groups such as the Native Plant Society and Permies. Same applies for rare cultivated and edible plants. If every gardener adopted one it would make a much more effective conservation effort. They could share through groups such as Seed Savers Exchange, etc.
I like to study California native and edible plants. I’d like to move down there with my school bus but don’t have a place to go yet. I’d like to stat a food rest and naysay be plant nursery somewhere also. Start small and see how it how’s. Please contact me if you know anyone with land who might be interested. I also am a solar technician so can help with any off grid projects. Thanks.

Hi Jeremy,

Nice to know someone is thinking in the same direction of saving plants!

I am also working on finding land too. I live an hour north of SF. What area of CA are you looking to move to?

I have a have a few friends who have land and seem interested in building community. One changed his mind and seems to want to do his own thing. Another friend has been on her own for 30 years, so it seems to be a slow process. I have another friend who just got some property in Arcata, and are just starting the permit process, which will take at least a year before they finish that. I just met them, so I do not know them well.

What are your plans, or what are you looking to do?  

There are lists of endangered plants per state. For Alabama I'm trying to grow monarda austroappalachiana, blephilia subnuda, pycnanthemum beadlei, and lindera melissifolia so far. I'd like to get some apios priceana, torreya taxifolia, lilium grayi, and schisandra glabra but no luck so far.

There are lists of endangered plants per state. For Alabama I'm trying to grow monarda austroappalachiana, blephilia subnuda, pycnanthemum beadlei, and lindera melissifolia so far. I'd like to get some apios priceana, torreya taxifolia, lilium grayi, and schisandra glabra but no luck so far.

This is nice to hear. Glad you are trying to help these plants in Alabama. Keep us updated on your progress. I would like to see some photos if possible.

There's a huge (thousands) population of Packera millefolium growing on my farm in SW VA. The approximately 1 dozen populations growing in two counties in Virginia are potentially about to be split off of the populations in a few counties where SC, NC and GA converge due to morphological and habitat (limestone vs. granite) differences, making the plant growing here even rarer, though I doubt Virginia will ever list it as endangered since they hardly list anything.

Additionally, the spring that surfaces & sinks on this property is currently in the process of being dye-traced to see if it's the first "window" into the cave system that's home to the blind, albino, aquatic Rye Cove Isopod (imagine roly-poly), though the endangered species act is very different for animals than plants.

As much as I can, I propagate and share rare narrow endemic plants with seed exchanges like the North American Rock Garden Society - which is also a place I've gotten seed for useful plants like purple Japanese parsley, various ferula species, salvias, Monarda austroappalachiana, and Aralia cordata 'Sun King'.

I'm also a member of the American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation which unlike the American Chestnut Foundation is breeding and distributing blight-resistant, non-GMO, 100% American chestnut seed.