CLOQUET, Minn. (AP) - Endangered plant experts in Minnesota are working to collect the state’s orchids as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s broader effort to bank the genetics of the over 200 orchids in North America before they’re gone.
David Remucal, curator of endangered plants at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, is leading the project to gather and preserve the seeds of all 48 of the state’s native orchid species, 20 percent of which are considered endangered or threatened, Minnesota Public Radio (https://bit.ly/2eM42uW) reported.
Remucal said orchids are often the first species to disappear from a landscape during climate change because they’re sensitive to changes in habitat and the loss of pollinators.
“We could be losing a lot of these landscapes over the next 50 years, so we could be losing a lot of these orchid populations,” said Remucal.
The second part of the arboretum’s project is to attempt to multiply orchid species in the lab.
The long term goal is to be able to plant orchids to ensure their survival.
According to Dennis Whigham, a botanist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland, orchids have evolved to not use photosynthesis, the process which plants use to survive. Some species have survived for 25 years underground, living off of fungi, before emerging to the surface to flower and reproduce.
Minnesota researches have collected seeds from about 30 of the state’s native orchids.
“I want to get ahead of the game,” said Remucal, “and make sure that we have those seeds so that we can save these species.”
___
Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, https://www.mprnews.org
Please read our comment policy before commenting.