Time travel and ancient plants
Diane Whitehead (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.
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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