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What it takes to start a National Plant Collection?

You may wonder what it actually involves to start a National Plant Collection (NPC). Is it enough to simply add new species or cultivars to your garden? Well, it is a little more scientific than that. Equally, it is not overwhelmingly technical either.

The Plant Heritage website unfortunately is not too informative on that subject until you dig deeper. The application form for a NPC gives a lot more detail, although many would not necessarily look here when they are only at the very beginning of 'maybe having a NPC'. So for those that may not pursuit this idea with full steam but are generally interested in the subject will not find comprehensive information without more in depth research.

'This conservation scheme relies largely on your research.'

And that is already the essence of preparing for a NPC. This conservation scheme relies largely on research. How else would you know what to collect and which plants are rare or endangered? In depth research is required at all times and therefore also the knowledge of how to acquire genuine information.

Nowadays research could not be easier. The internet enables us to access everybody and everything. Countless amounts of files and data is stored on online servers to provide the whole globe with shared knowledge, historical facts and personal experience.

I dare to imagine what research must have been like 50 years ago. Computers were not available to the general public. Only libraries collected knowledge in form of books and magazines, yet most libraries would only have very limited if any information on specific topics such as rare and endangered plants. Even today libraries are poorly stocked on that matter as it is far too specific and rarely demanded by library general users.

Specific scientific knowledge on rare topics requires specific libraries which offer such information. I only know of one library in England that would fulfill such expectations: the library at Kew Gardens in London.

Library at Kew Gardens, London, UK

It is indeed one of the most important botanical reference sources in the world. Not only books are available, this library also stores botanical illustrations, photographs, letters, manuscripts, periodicals, many of which are many decades old and origin from the colonialistic age when botanic expeditions frequently set out to explore the world. Letters and journals tell stories about incredible adventures and how botanists saw the plant world in those days. Many descriptions and most of all plant names have been revised (and potentially changed) since, so a lot of the information might be difficult to match up with knowledge we know today.

So despite the internet being a fantastic tool when it comes to research, some written knowledge is still on paper the 'old fashioned' way. In any case, research is time consuming, not only to find relevant information but also to filter out genuine information amongst the junk which is cluttering the internet, as well as books.

And so it begins... research!

So last night I have done an initial research of Tricyrtis. Rather than just having a dreamy idea I want to determine what it really involves. What is out there? How many Tricyrtis are we talking?

As National Plant Collections (NPC) are heavily relying on the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and their annually published plant finder, I looked up how many entries of Tricyrtis the RHS lists. 163 results for Tricyrtis, that includes species, hybrids, varieties or cultivars which have been grown for ornamental purposes and have been or still are commercially available.

163 sounds a lot to start with (although nothing in comparison to other genera, thinking of the endless Iris or Rose cultivars out there), but at a closer look it is actually much less. Many entries refer to a synonym which means in fact several entries are copies of each other.

I copied every single entry into my Excel file, where I will start collating all the information. Now I will compare those entries with a search on The Plant List, a collaboration of all major botanic gardens which lists every known latin plant name. For lazy reasons I will refer to that as the 'Kew list'.

So this is Kew's list for Tricyrtis. It basically includes every single species of Tricyrtis ever known, discovered or described and also includes all synonyms and name changes. That should enable me to cross out synonyms and filter relevant names and species. But the Kew list does not count garden varieties and cultivars. Therefore Kew 'only' provides a comprehensive list of Tricyrtis species ever known to us, whereas the RHS gives an indication of cultivars ever known to us.

Screenshot of Tricyrtis Search on the Plant List

After that I will look back at the RHS search to determine which of those entries are still available on the market (supplied). In the end I should have quite a good idea of the current Tricyrtis situation. Which species and cultivars exist, which ones are readily available and which ones are rare or only growing in the wild and not in cultivation at all. Wish me luck.

I need 48hr days...

Conservation through Cultivation

Plants as we know them today will be very different tomorrow. As plant breeding continues, fashions come and go, as well as habitat loss in the wild, many plant species and their bred varieties will quietly disappear over time. To collect species and hybrids within a chosen genera in British gardens, those plants and their genes will be kept safe from extinction.
 

" We keep rare plants growing… "

Much like an art collector is accumulating original oil paintings to preserve their superb condition. Or much like a zoo keeps endangered species to ensure their survival.

So with this idea the National Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens (NCCPG), or short Plant Heritage, has been founded as a registered charity in 1978. It was "to combine the talents of botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists with the dedication of keen amateur and professional gardeners to encourage the propagation and conservation of cultivated plants in the British Isles; encourage and conduct research into cultivated plants, their origins, their historical and cultural importance and their environments; and encourage the education of the public in cultivated plant conservation."

There are many ways of supporting this scheme. 

One of the easiest ways is probably to sign up and become a member. Just by being a member and joining Plant Heritage in the promotion of plant conservation already helps a lot and comes with a few perks. Once a member one could set up their own NPC by starting to research and collect plants leading towards the application of NPC status. Although this is time consuming and requires a fair amount of passion and space to grow your favourite plants. The more special the plant the better. Or become a plant guardian, where instead of growing many specimen within a genera only one or two rare species or varities are enough for the application. Or simply donate without any further comittments.

More information can be found on the Plant Heritage Website here.

Why Tricyrtis?

On the question of 'Why of all plants have you chosen Tricyrtis?'

I like so many plants, it is indeed difficult to pick only one that ranks as ultimate favourite of all. A common 'problem' (if a problem at all) amongst plant enthusiasts and collectors. Certainly then having to choose a genus as an all time favourite is even more difficult, because the plant species within a genus may vary quite significantly. However, on my rather long plant list of favourites, Tricyrtis has always been fairly high up.

To be honest, until recently, I did not know much more about Tricyrtis then the popular T. formosana. As much as I could guess that there were more out there, yet that species alone won my heart instantly. I love the exotic look of the flower, its star-shape appearance with those maroon dots and freckles all over, and then topped by this mysteriously looking stigma. And if you look closely the surface of the petals and tepals is so velvety it sparkles in the sunshine. A highly attractive flower.

Tricyrtis formosana

When I first learnt about Tricyrtis about 10 years ago, it was talked about as a speciality, thought to be tender and therefore a tendency to be classed as a rare plant. Indeed, Tricyrtis is not a common sight in English gardens. Generally I like special or rare plants, gems amongst the sea so called of easy-maintenance and good performance plants. This does not necessarily mean rare plants are all difficult to grow, but there certainly is a tendency, hence their meager success in the commercial world. But more so, uncommon plants are just different to what you see every day and stand out of the crowd, an aspect I always cherish.

Now as I learn more about this wonderful genus, Tricyrtis actually is not that tender at all so long one does not live in the deep freeze. They can cope with frost alright. Perhaps not so well on the continent, where frosty spells last several weeks potentially (although the climate is changing and seasons are by no means predictable anymore).

Another big brownie point for Tricyrtis is that it loves shady woodland habitats, just like my other top favourites: ferns. My all dream garden (beside a lush subtropical one) is full of ferns (Adianthum, Cyrtomium, Dryopteris, Polystichum, only to name a few), tree stumps, Ophiopogon, Luzula, lots of moss, a few hostas and witch hazels, snowdrops, bluebells and maybe a small stream meandering through. Tricyrtis fit in perfectly!

So with my initial research I searched for a Tricyrtis National Collection on the Plant Heritage Website, thinking to learn more about these plants from an expert collector. To my surprise, there is no registered NPC. I wonder why? Does Tricyrtis not appeal for collection? I do know that many people do collect plants but are simply put off by the NPC paperwork and therefore never appear on searches like this.

Who will I be in future? Maybe I will become that expert collector one day as part as the conservation scheme, or maybe I remain in the background? I have not made my mind up as yet. Only that I love this genus and I am keen to learn more about it.