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Montgomery Botanical Center’s primary visitors are botanists,
particularly those who study palms and cycads, but MBC also serves
entomologists, geologists, and scientists in many other disciplines.
Specializing in living plant research collections, MBC maintains:
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Genetically diverse population samples of wild-collected
palms and cycads
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Thorough documentation of each plant throughout its life
history
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Expertly identified plants
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Easy access to the plants
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The ability to manipulate plants as required by research
protocols.
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Security and protection for the study plants over the length
of a project
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On-site accommodations on a space-available basis
Montgomery Botanical
Center’s scientific and educational collections are being developed
primarily as a documented, wild-collected, population-based collection
of palms and cycads. Population-based collections strive to represent
the full morphologic and genetic diversities within a species
throughout its known native geographic range.
For many types of
research projects, monitoring of individual plants is required over
numerous years and study of individual plants is often
necessary. Whenever individual plants are monitored for many years, MBC
ensures that the plants are protected so as to not affect the outcome
of
an experiment.
Internationally, MBC is
considered one of the leading gardens with respect to the amount and
accessibility of documentation associated with each seed, and the
resulting plant from that seed, contained within our collections. The
collections development and horticulture teams track the progress of
each seed, typically on a monthly basis, from the time it is collected
in the wild, to the seedling stage in the nursery, to planting it into
the ground, and then to final maturity. Digital images visually
document the growth and development of one plant from each population
sample every two years once the plant is placed into the ground. In
addition, digital images are obtained of reproductive structures, such
as cones, flowers, and fruits. All of the above data are collected and
added to MBC’s database. All plants are surveyed and incorporated into
MBC’s computer mapping system so that scientists are able to find the
site for a particular plant or group of plants they are interested in
studying.
If you require research
material from MBC’s collections, but are not able to visit the garden,
MBC staff are available in some cases to collect and ship material.
If you are interested in
learning more about research opportunities and the facilities provided
at MBC, please contact us.
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