From: Joyce Fingerut <alpinegarden@comcast.net>
To: Dave Richards <dorichards@mango.zw>,
Ian Plenderleith <plen@portal.ca>,
Edward Buyarski <amprimsoc@hotmail.com>,
Ian Bainbridge <bainbridi@aol.com>,
Greg Bourke <sydneycarnivorous@iinet.net.au>,
Daryl Geoghegan <plants_man@bigpond.com>,
Carol Quinn <caroleq@bigpond.com>,
Mike Brown <clematiscorner@supanet.com>,
Anne Wright <barry.wright@onetel.net>,
Sue Haffner <sueh@zimmer.csufresno.edu>,
Philip Downs <panda.downs@actrix.co.nz>,
Leo Smit <elsumpn@chebucto.ns.ca>,
Jody Haynes <jhay@montgomerybotanical.org>,
Lars Høpfner <hoepfner@privat.dk>,
Morgan Smith <desertplantsocietyvan@hotmail.com>,
Tony Palmer <adpal@ihug.co.nz>,
Faye Brawner <fbrawnerwv@aol.com>,
Joyce Fingerut <alpinegarden@comcast.net>,
Gregg Miller <gregg@millergarden.org>,
Pat Lorenz <p.lorenz@sympatico.ca>,
Vojtech Holubec <holubec@vurv.cz>,
Jude & Michael Fanton <michel@seedsavers.net>,
Ghan Chee <davidghan@eol.ca>,
Marc Colombel <Marc.Colombel@wanadoo.fr>,
Will Plotner <gardens@molalla.net>,
Dell Sherk <dells@voicenet.com>,
Deborah Cole <dcthree@juno.com>,
Jim Shields <jshields@indy.net>,
Larry Diehl <ldiehl@wideopenwest.com>,
John van der Linde <vandal@iafrica.com>,
Chris Vlok <vlokac@wol.co.za>,
Malcolm McGregor <mmcg@mmcg.karoo.co.uk>,
Bob McFarlane <Denvrbob@aol.com>,
Alan Hill <alan.hill6@virgin.net>,
tommyhayes@esatclear.ie,
Ray Stephenson <ray@sedumray.ndo.co.uk>,
Leslie Milde <meribush@aol.com>,
"Berit K. Ostby / Eivind Damsleth" <edamsleth@sensewave.com>,
Scott Cook <gardener272000@yahoo.co.uk>,
e.j.gouda@bio.uu.nl,
Ron Lance <ronl@chimneyrockpark.com>,
Tim Marshall <plantsman@tiscali.co.uk>,
Maureen Janson <herblady_63090@yahoo.com>,
Murray McCallister <muznbev@aol.com.au>,
Richard Laurie <allison.laurie@sympatico.ca>,
matilija@verizon.net,
Pat Toolan <pattoolan1@bigpond.com>,
Clive Lane <clive_lane_cgs@hotmail.com>,
Peter Shalit <gezprez@gmail.com>,
Tom Cox <coxarb@bellsouth.net>,
Dorothy Minors <dot@pilgrimsrest.demon.co.uk>,
Fleur Pavlidis <mgssec@hol.gr>,
Pat Toolan <pattoolan2@bigpond.com>,
Jeremy Spon <jeremyspon@waitrose.com>,
Diane Clement <diane@mdclement.orangehome.co.uk>
Subject: Establishing taxa as "present"
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:20:37 -0400

To the members of IHSEA -

Once the latest standard from NAPPO (RSPM No. 32) is published in October,
it will require that the participating countries of Canada, Mexico, and
the United States establish a screening process for all new plant taxa,
which will effectively act as an import barrier into those countries.
Eventually, this RSPM will be the basis of a similar international
standard, under the IPPC and will affect all countries (or at least those
that are signatories to the IPPC, close to 200 nations).
The standard demands that countries enact new regulations/legislation
requiring screening on all future introductions for potential
invasiveness. The screening process would be a form of Weed Risk
Assessment which would have to be completed on any taxon that is not
already present in the country before it will be permitted to enter (be
imported).

If horticultural societies are to continue to operate seed exchanges, they
must be capable of importing seeds from donors in other countries, as well
as distributing their seeds to members in other countries. Therefore, it
is crucial that we make certain that each country has the largest possible
database of plants as already existing within its borders. Every
specialist plant society must work to see that all its taxa are considered
to be "already present" in its own, and possibly other,
countries. National governmental plant protection organizations (like
APHIS in the US, DEFRA in the UK, CFIA in Canada.....) must be persuaded
that although these plants are not present in commercial Big Box
quantities, they are being grown in both private and public gardens and
offered by the endless array of small specialist nurseries.
(Handling the proposed screening of new items will be another problem, for
another day)

In the United States, a new project to write a comprehensive "Flora of
Cultivated Plants" is beginning, headed by Dr. Tom Elias, Director of the
National Arboretum. Fortunately, he sees the point of including plants
listed in seed exchanges. He is interested in the seed database that NARGS
currently operates, and my guess is that he would also include the taxa
from other organizations' databases, so that as many genera could be
covered in as great a depth as possible.
-> If other US-based societies would be interested in having the plants in
their seed exchange databases included in the Flora, please contact me.

My personal feeling is also that, since so many societies based in other
countries have US members, there is a fair chance that the taxa listed in
their exchanges have made their way into US gardens and nurseries.
Therefore, taxa listed on almost any seedlist should be considered as
being cultivated in the US.
-> If I can move the Flora's committee to this way of thinking about the
globalness of horticulture, would other societies, in other countries
(especially Canada and the UK), be interested in having their databases
included?

I am on the contact list for this project and will attend its next meeting
(not yet scheduled). It would ultimately be helpful to everyone if I can
take a complete record of ALL the plants that we assume are being grown
in the US.....from all sources. Let me hear your thoughts on this
issue. Please contact me with questions - and, especially offers - either
through this list or privately.

Thank you -
Joyce

Joyce Fingerut

Government Liaison,

North American Rock Garden Society

<http://www.nargs.org/>http://www.nargs.org/

Member organization:

International Horticultural Seed Exchange Advocacy (IHSEA)