Time travel and ancient plants

Diane Whitehead voltaire@islandnet.com
Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:04:02 PST
On 12-Nov-07, at 11:42 AM, Robt R Pries wrote:

  British System of National Collections -
   Unfortunately The USA seems adverse to this type of effort.
=================================================

I don't think the lack of National Collections in North America is  
the result of unconcern for the public good.  Rather, I think our  
geography is the reason.  The U.K. is so compact that it is easy to  
visit gardens and flower shows all over the country. Even travelling  
by bus, I was able to go to a flower show in Wales, visit a national  
collection of snowdrops mid-country and go to a London flower show,  
all within a few days.

Also, their climate does not have the extreme differences found in  
North America.  Therefore a national collection in the U.K. provides  
useful information for gardeners all over the country.  That could  
never be the case here -  just think of the differences between only  
two of our areas:  coastal Alaska and coastal Florida.

  The North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC) registers  
collections at botanic gardens and arboreta.  All the plants must be  
of known wild provenance.  It is an expensive program, as the  
institution must pay the expenses of an expert to come and certify  
the collection.


Diane Whitehead





More information about the pbs mailing list