| RARE PLANTS in New England | ||||
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Nearly one-fifth of New England's 3,000 plant species are in danger of disappearing from our region. |
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The risk of extinction is as real for the beautiful Plymouth Gentian as it is for the Humpback Whale or the Peregrine Falcon. As the oldest plant conservation organization in the United States, the New England Wild Flower Society is working to protect more than 500 endangered species in our region. Most of the rare and endangered plants in the New England Wild Flower Society's Garden of Rare and Endangered plants at its botanic garden, Garden in the Woods, are seldom seen growing wild in New England. Many are so inconspicuous that you could walk right by without ever noticing them. Others grow in such limited numbers you might never encounter them, unless you knew where to look. |
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| Guidelines for Ethical Field Research on
Rare Plant Species Field and laboratory research is critical for developing a fuller understanding of the life history, demography, habitat requirements, and management needs of rare plant species. However, the need for research must be balanced with the recognition that manipulating rare species in the wild may have negative consequences for population viability. To minimize harm to native populations while encouraging the development of sound protocols and informative field studies, we have developed the following set of guidelines for performing research on rare plants. These step-by-step guidelines are meant to help prospective researchers design studies on rare plants that are both ethically and scientifically sound. Download the Guidelines [in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format]. |
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| Flora Conservanda: New England. Flora Conservanda: New England, the New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP) list of plants in need of conservation. CLICK HERE for more information including the complete text of Flora Conservanda. | ||||
State Natural Heritage Programs. NEWFS has formed partnerships with all six Natural Heritage Programs in New England. These programs work in each state to preserve native biological diversity through inventory, research, environmental review, habitat protection, and data management. CLICK HERE for more information. |
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| Rare Plant Species Lists. Each state in New England maintains its own list of state rare species. For links to the lists for each state, CLICK HERE. | ||||
Rare Plant Fact Sheets. Some states produce fact sheets that provide information on the distribution, rarity, and biology of selected rare species. These fact sheets are available to the public. Fact sheets are not available for all rare species. For links to the fact sheets for each state, CLICK HERE. |
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| Herbarium Recovery Project. This historic survey of all the major and minor New England herbaria focuses on determining the historic distribution and location of New England’s rare and endangered plant populations. | ||||
| New England Wild Flower Society Seedbank. Seed banks can provide material for research or reintroduction without harming fragile wild populations. | ||||
Center
for Plant Conservation. Comprising
botanic gardens, arboreta, universities, land management
agencies, and conservation organizations from across the
United States, the CPC works to save plants from extinction. |
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| * NOTE: To view Acrobat files, you will need to have installed the free Adobe Acrobat reader which can be downloaded at the Adobe site. CLICK HERE to visit Adobe download page. If you have any difficulty downloading this document, please contact webmaster@newfs.org | ||||
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