Ch. 9— Maintaining Biological Diversity in the United States • 237 



Photo credit: Seed Savers Exchange 



Several of the rare fruits of moon and stars watermelon 

 are displayed by Kent Wfiealy, Director of the Seed Savers 

 Exchange. This private organization works toward saving 

 heirloom and endangered garden seeds from extinction. 



banana germplasm (23). Although the objective 

 in most cases is not the maintenance of genetic 

 diversity, industries could maintain germplasm 

 resources that contribute to the overall plant 

 diversity in the United States. 



Support can be provided by private industry 

 by granting funds, equipment, facilities, or land. 

 The Rhododendron Species Foundation, for ex- 

 ample, maintains an extensive collection of 

 wild rhododendrons at a facility donated by the 

 Weyerhaeuser Co. (59). A grant to NPGS by Pi- 

 oneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., of $1.5 mil- 

 lion over 5 years will support the evaluation 

 of Latin American corn varieties (2)— work not 

 possible under present NPGS budgets. 



Wild Plants 



No Federal equivalent to NPGS exists for wild 

 plant species. Although NPGS maintains some 

 wild plant germplasm, this is clearly a second- 

 ary function and generally involves relatives 

 of cultivated crops or species economically 

 valuable, such as ornamentals or florist crops. 

 Most wild plant diversity is stored in living 

 collections such as botanic gardens and ar- 

 boretums. 



Federal programs that make some contribu- 

 tion to maintaining wild plant diversity do not 

 cover the majority of plant diversity. USDA's 

 Soil Conservation Service (SCS) maintains some 

 wild species (those with known or suspected 

 value to soil or water conservation) in its Plant 

 Materials Centers. Species not being used in 

 plant development programs are sent to NSSL 

 (52). 



The Forest Service maintains germplasm of 

 tree species with known or potential commer- 

 cial value (5). The Smithsonian Institution main- 

 tains an extensive collection of North American 

 wild plant species. The Office of Endangered 

 Species provides some funding for offsite main- 

 tenance and propagation of threatened or en- 

 dangered plant species. 



The contributions of current State efforts are 

 unclear. Generally, State programs are coordi- 

 nated through the State Department of Agri- 

 culture and focus on species with some eco- 

 nomic importance to the State — e.g., timber 

 varieties, shrubs, and grasses useful in land 

 reclamation, along with important wildlife 

 foods. 



The most significant offsite programs for 

 germplasm are financed and managed in the 

 private sector (59). One such effort, the Center 

 for Plant Conservation (CPC), is beginning a 

 network of botanic gardens and arboretums to 

 conserve all threatened and endangered wild 

 plant species. CPC, located at the Arnold Ar- 

 boretum in Massachusetts, has solicited the par- 

 ticipation of 14 major botanic institutions 

 across the country to act as regional centers 

 for wild plant diversity. By establishing a data 

 network, CPC hopes to identify plant species 



