Posted October 18, 2011 by Jennifer Ramp Neale, Director of Research & Conservation
The changing of the seasons is marked in the Research & Conservation department not only by the fact that the days are getting noticeably shorter, but by the fact that we have all returned indoors for the year. The growing and collecting season has dwindled for our botanists and mycologists, and we are now busy processing and analyzing the fruits of our summer labors.
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Seed collection of Parachute penstemon
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It was certainly a rainy spring
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Intern Eliot Jackson collecting seed of a milkvetch
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Pam Regensberg collecting at the City of Fort Collins Soapstone Prairie Natural Area
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Earth tounges collected by volunteer Rosa-Lee Brace
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Searching for Brandegee’s buckwheat with volunteer Mo Ewing
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Posted May 20, 2011 by Jennifer Ramp Neale, Director of Research & Conservation
Denver Botanic Gardens staff and volunteers conduct annual monitoring of the Colorado hookless cactus
Did you know that more than 1350 species in the US are protected under the Endangered Species Act? A whopping 792 (57%) of them are plants. Today is the sixth annual Endangered Species Day, a day to celebrate our endangered species. There are 29 species in Colorado listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Thirteen of them are plants and we at Denver Botanic Gardens are working to conserve each of them.
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Posted April 15, 2011 by Jennifer Ramp Neale, Director of Research & Conservation
Last week we were honored to co-host the Center for Plant Conservation Annual Meeting along with the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Fort Collins. Conservation professionals from more than 20 botanic gardens, federal agencies, and organizations across the country gathered in Colorado for a four-day conference to celebrate our efforts to conserve our nation’s rarest plants.
The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) is a consortium of botanic gardens dedicated to protecting our nation’s vanishing flora. Denver Botanic Gardens was one of the founding partners of the CPC 27 years ago (1984). We have been actively involved in seed collection and other conservation efforts in collaboration with the CPC ever since.
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Posted October 28, 2010 by David Rubin, Brand Manager
Henry David Thoreau. John Muir. Teddy Roosevelt. Judy Sellers, Denver Botanic Gardens board member. What do these four people have in common?
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Posted October 7, 2010 by Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator & Director of Outreach
- Salvia pachyphylla (Mojave sage) and complementary plantings
October isn’t usually considered a great time for gardens: well, think again!
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Posted September 18, 2010 by Sarah Spearman, Education Sales Coordinator
If a yard or garden looks like it has been transplanted from the desert, does that make it a “water-smart garden?” One might make the assumption that the plants do not need much supplemental water and, therefore, the homeowner is being frugal with his or her water application. This may actually be an incorrect notion.
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Posted June 30, 2010 by Horticulture Intern
To a Colorado non-native, the the gypsum dust blowing through Eagle County could easily obscure the beautiful wildflowers growing amongst the mountainous anthills and dry lakebeds. Penstemon harringtonii is a rare, showy purple and blue flower limited to the sagebrush steppe in Colorado and limited in number as well. A changing habitat and the ever-so-ambitious human dweller threaten this endemic species.
This year, the horticulture interns joined up with the Gardens research team on their 14-year field study to ensure the future of this plant.
The first study site with gridding in the works
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Posted May 19, 2009 by Michelle DePrenger-Levin, Research Associate
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.
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