Texas Plant Conservation Program
Plant diversity is being lost at an alarming rate. It is this same diversity that supports human livelihoods and many of our most precious natural resources. One of Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s major goals is to raise awareness of the value plants bring to life, and the threats they face worldwide. We are committed to working toward conserving plant diversity at home in Texas, and around the world.
Vision & Purpose
To prevent plant extinction in Texas by supporting and maintaining viable, self-supporting, and genetically diverse populations of all Texas plants in their natural habitat, and to collect, store, and manage conservation seed collections for use in research and restoration of rare Texas plants.
By the Numbers
Rare vascular plants in Texas
448
Critically imperiled species in Texas
113
Plant taxa at risk in Texas
450
Plants conserved
80
Program/Area Summary
Texas is home to 448 rare vascular plant species, including 113 categorized as Critically Imperiled (G1) and at high risk for extinction. For many of these species only a few individual plants remain in the wild. These plants are faced with increasing levels of threat from population growth, urban development, land use changes, invasive species, and climate change. Population monitoring is essential for identifying populations and species in decline and targeting sites for seed collection and habitat restoration. The Texas Plant Conservation Program conducts research on rare Texas plants with projects including species status assessments, predictive habitat models, and population monitoring.
In addition to the above activities, the BRIT Conservation Seed Bank collects seeds from wild populations of rare plants as an insurance policy against extinction. The seed is used for research and restoration efforts for these rare species. The seed bank is an essential component of our Plant Conservation program and provides baseline data and plant materials for research efforts seeking to understand how we can best conserve these species while actively conserving the genetic diversity of our most imperiled plants.
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Connect With Us
If you’d like to learn more about our ongoing projects or volunteer with the Texas Plant Conservation Program, please email Dr. Brooke Byerley Best, Ph.D. at bbest@brit.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
