ABSTRACT
Houston Botanic garden is a new botanical institution that opened to the public in September 2020. Its master plan envisions transforming a former City of Houston municipal golf course into a 53-hectare (132-acre) botanical garden, of which about 10 hectares (25 acres) are already finished gardens. Houston Botanic Garden’s collection focus is to gather as much plant diversity as possible and to support the conservation of regional flora. Houston Botanic Garden’s mission statement specifically includes plant conservation as one of its core activities. Therefore, as the institution develops its collection policies and conservation programs, the goals to set the initial framework are as follows: (1) Ex situ preservation of rare and endangered species of regional distribution, particularly Quercus; (2) ex situ preservation of species in the genus Magnolia; (3) acquisition of flagship species of very restricted distribution in the wild; (4) developing a collection of Louisiana iris wild forms; and (5) collecting species and cultivars within the genus Musa. New facilities to support plant conservation will include a greenhouse and a shade structure and improving an existing nursery pad. Securing germplasm of known wild origin will be required for any plant species collected within the scope of the conservation program, whenever possible. While most conservation-related germplasm received comes from donations and exchanges with other gardens, participating in collecting trips will provide additional opportunities for seed procurement. As the garden grows, all these initial steps will set the path for an impactful plant conservation program at Houston Botanic Garden.
