Borassus aethiopum at sunset

March 2010

February 26, 2010

Botanic Gardens increasingly work to ensure the conservation of endangered plants. Montgomery Botanical Center is no exception, and MBC plant collections have been structured to maximize conservation value. But how effective is this work -- are plants being conserved?

A recent paper in the journal Biological Conservation evaluates the success of the methods used by MBC to conserve genetic diversity through living plant collections. This study used an extensive living collection of a palm species, Leucothrinax morrisii, as a model system to evaluate botanic garden conservation. The living collection was the result of a single collecting event from a single population on Big Pine Key in 1998. Thus, this group of palms provided sufficient depth to evaluate optimium collection size for a single population.

The project team revisited the original population, and compared the genetic diversity of the collection and the population. The resulting data was used to model the most effective sample size to conserve genetic diversity.

The results of the work demonstrate that in this case, maintaining a collection of at least 15 plants succeeds in conserving at least 80% of the diversity in the wild population. Increasing the number of plants in the collection further will increase the conservation value of the collection, but dimishing returns are seen at higher collection sizes. The effect of collecting from separate mother plants was also positive, but was less significant than simply increasing the number of plants. This information can be of help for planning conservation work for palms and other plant groups.

Funding for this study was awarded by the International Palm Society. The study, led by Patrick Griffith of MBC, was performed in collaboration with researchers at Florida International University and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden -- Sandra Namoff, Javier Francisco-Ortega, and Carl Lewis -- in addition to MBC's Larry Noblick and Chad Husby.

February 12, 2010

As part of its work in botanical education, The Kampong recently gave a course for physicians. Montgomery Botanical Center hosted the physicians and instructors for an afternoon of seminars, review of the living plant collections, and a brief introduction to the history and work of MBC.

The Kampong Physicians' Course aims to connect traditional medicine and ethnobotany. This year's course featured speakers from the south Florida area and also western Canada.  Physicians and medical students in the course gain insights from botany that can complement their medical practice. Outreach Manager Tracy Magellan states, "traditional medicine began with botany, and this course helps to keep that important connection. Plants still have many more potential benefits for medicine"

Montgomery Botanical Center and The Kampong frequently work together to advance botanical education and horticultural conservation. This cooperative spirit continues the friendship of Col. Montgomery and Dr. Fairchild into the modern era through MBC and the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

February 2, 2010

Twenty-eight members of the Coral Gables Garden Club visited Montgomery Botanical Center for a lecture on MBC’s collections and history given by Dr. Patrick Griffith followed by a tour of the property.

The Coral Gables Garden Club was established in 1925, and has a deep history of working to promote gardening and to beautify the Coral Gables community.

Nell Montgomery was an early Member and Director of the Coral Gables Garden Club. Nell hosted a similar lecture and tour here in early 1936, which featured a lecture by Col. Robert Montgomery and tour of "the largest collection of tropical palms in the country."

MBC thanks the Coral Gables Garden Club for their support of research, conservation, and education at Montgomery Botanical Center."I always enjoy seeing the Coral Gables Garden Club here at MBC. Having such a steadfast group of supporters in our city helps keep our great botanical traditions thriving," said Griffith.

January 12, 2010

Dr. John Dowe has completed an important work, Australian Palms: Biogeography, Ecology and Systematics. The book features a detailed treatment of each palm species in Australia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk island, and Christmas Island. In all, 60 species are covered, in 21 genera. The book is available through CSIRO Publishing (Australia). Montgomery is hosting the supplemental data for this work on the MBC website.

The new book represents the results of an extended period of detailed study of palms. Quoting the preface: “The author has studied and collected all mainland palm species in their natural habitats, and has studied those from off-shore territories as cultivated specimens in Australian botanic gardens such as The Palmetum in Townsville, Flecker Botanic Gardens in Cairns and Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, and in Florida at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens and the Montgomery Botanical Center. This work is the culmination of over 20 years of research into Australian palms.”

John’s work has added many new discoveries to the palm family. Nineteen new species were described by John during the course of this work. In addition, John recently authored a definitive treatment of the genus Livistona.

Dr. Dowe has been involved in the work of Montgomery Botanical Center for almost two decades. Beginning with MBC’s collections recovery work after Hurricane Andrew, John contributed to many of MBC’s living palm collections. In 2004, the MBC Board of Directors appointed Dr. Dowe as a Montgomery Botanical Research Fellow. With the generous support of the Kelly Foundation, John has travelled to MBC every year since, and contributed a great deal to Montgomery's research, offered lectures on his work, and has also co-authored studies with the MBC team.

January 11, 2010

The coldest weather in nine years is being observed at Montgomery Botanical Center. Over the last week, temperatures have gone below 45 degrees four times, and the coldest on-site thermometer reading (36 degrees) was this morning around 5 am. This morning, ice formed on the lids of the soil bins.

As with all weather situations, there is some amount of preparation that can be done. Sensitive palms, like the Hemithrinax in this photo, are wrapped in burlap when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. In the nursery, the greenhouse is kept sealed and heated, and the most sensitive collections are brought in. Before our coldest hour, right before dawn, the shadehouse irrigation is run.

The weather recovery process is carefully planned. Treatment of the nursery collection is currently underway. Recording and tracking the cold damage is crucial. Thus far, some damage to a few Aiphanes and Zamia is observed, but more damage may become apparent. The entire nursery collection will be treated with fungicide as temperatures return to normal. 

Over the years, bouts of cold damage have occurred at The Coconut Grove Palmetum, The Montgomery Foundation, and MBC. Some plants are lost, and much hard work must be done, but active development of the living plant collection continues. The MBC team remains dedicated to these living treasures, despite cold, heat, rain, or wind.

January 9, 2010

Boy Scouts Help Restore 1932 Montgomery Greenhouse

Chris Lancaster from the Boy Scouts of America Troop 457, Pinecrest, Florida brought a dedicated, hard working Troop to Montgomery Botanical Center to complete his Eagle Scout Project.
 
Chris organized a group of over 75 volunteers to repair shutters and screens in the greenhouse, and paint the nursery potting area. In addition, other Scouts removed invasive plants and helped spread mulch for the plant collections.

The volunteers came out on Saturday in rainy 45°F weather and did a spectacular job completing the project despite the adverse conditions. MBC is very thankful to Chris for organizing the project, and to all the hardworking Scouts and their families for braving the rain and cold. 

Dr. Patrick Griffith states, “These dedicated Scouts represented their Troop and the BSA very well. The thoughtful, organized project moved us very far ahead on our work; and it was fun to see everyone having a great time in the cold, damp conditions. I hope to see many more Eagle Scout Projects here at Montgomery.”

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