Plant Risk Evaluator

Farm Bill Project Puts Collaboration First in Answering, “What’s Invasive?”

Texas Plant Conservation Program

Through a 2017 Farm Bill grant, 4 botanic gardens across the nation commenced deployment of the PRE™ (Plant Risk Evaluator) tool and database. The PRE tool is a new plant risk assessment platform to address “what’s invasive?” while equipping the horticultural trade with a science-based and collaborative decision support tool. Each botanic garden partner assessed 50 plants of interest or contention within their region, for a total of 200 regional assessments. BRIT partnered with the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to evaluate species specific to Texas.

View the 200 completed evaluations here.

PRE is a 20 question plant risk assessment tool. It is also an online platform and database enabling those involved in non-native, terrestrial plant production to know before they grow if a plant poses a potential regional invasive risk. Click here for more information on PRE. If you’re interested in getting involved as a PRE reviewer or having a PRE account for your organization, please email us at PlantRight@suscon.org.

Interview with Conservation Research Botanist and PRE screener, Kim Taylor.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden Blog: “PRE Trials at BRIT and FW Botanic Garden”

Research Team

Kim Norton Taylor Conservation Research Botanist