They may be tiny mustard plants but they have a huge impact in a region believed to contain one of the nation’s largest reservoirs of natural gas. Physaria congesta (Lesquerella congesta) and P. obcordata, both federally listed as Threatened under the National Endangered Species Act, are found right in the heart of all the activity associated with drilling for this oil and gas. See what Denver Botanic Gardens is doing in the field.
Read more »
What are you doing this weekend? If you’re like us (Research and Conservation at the Gardens), you’re getting ready to head out and find some rare and beautiful plants to study this summer. A good way to prepare for that might be our Introduction to GPS mapping class this Saturday from 1-4 p.m. In this class you will learn how we use GPS to locate rare plants in remote and sometimes not-so-remote areas. The lecture portion will teach you about GPS mapping and the “in the field” portion will take you out into the gardens to practice with your unit or give you a chance to practice with ours. Register now and be ready for your next excursion into the Colorado wilderness!
Sclerocactus glaucus
Sclerocactus glaucus habitat
What threatens Sclerocactus glaucus (see a video showing some of the causes)? Installation and maintenance of huge pipelines that move oil and gas from the well pads miles and miles to the collection facilities; roads; browsing and trampling from livestock; weeds; and people who collect them from the wild to name a few. Why are we doing something about it? Just look at the beautiful landscape and plant community. Do you want to lose that? Neither do we.
Celebrating Wildflowers isn’t only for the little ones. You can enjoy Colorado native plants in the metro area. You don’t want to miss this great, free, guided tour of spring blooms on Green Mountain. The Bureau of Land Management’s botanists will teach you all about the beautiful spring blooms.
When: This weekend, May 16th at 10 a.m.
Where: Green Mountain parking lot just west of Alameda and West Florida Drive.
Sclerocactus glaucus: Collection for genetic analysis
Each year, as spring rolls around, the Research and Conservation staff load up a 4-wheel drive vehicle with our gear, head out across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain west region in search of rare plants. This year we’re bringing the field home to you. Watch our first field video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqE5b4AXYRM.
Our first trip takes us west to the threatened cactus, Sclerocactus glaucus. This lovely little cactus is found in Western Colorado along with several other rare plant species. This is also an area with intense oil and gas development, residential growth and spreading weeds. Our aim is to protect the western region by studying and protecting this tiny cactus.
What is it? Who does it? Why?
Obviously we study new species to add to your gardens. We have trial gardens, develop germination protocols, even breed new species. We also head out into Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region to study plants where they grow (in-situ) and sometimes collect seed to preserve genetic material, study the plants in the lab, or grow individuals for reintroductions (ex-situ).
The species we study may very well never contain the cure for cancer, might not become the next best specimen to have in your collection, and might go unnoticed as a single species loss. However, these primary producers are part of the ecosystem
Read more »
Posted in: Conservation & Ecology - Comments(0)