Ex Situ Conservation of Threatened Chilean Flora Through Propagation

The flora of the desert and Mediterranean regions in central Chile is increasingly facing threat from both human activity and natural events which are driving to extinction several endemic plant species.

Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) through its Base Gene bank at Vicuña, is working in partnership with Kew's Millennium Seed Bank project to implement a project on ex situ conservation of these endemic, vulnerable and endangered plant species. Collecting, joint research and a continuing training programme are priority activities.

Seed conservation is a particularly efficient ex situ method which enables the storage of a wide amount of genetic resources in very little space and it sometimes represents a unique approach to ensure long term conservation of plant species.

The ability to successfully grow plants from small amounts of seed, verify identification at flowering, achieve controlled pollination and subsequently seed harvesting is critical for providing adequate quantities of seed for research without the need to over-exploit wild populations. 

This project seeks to help secure the long term conservation of priority species of threatened Chilean flora.  This is being achieved by growing priority plant species and harvesting seed to establish a sufficient quantity of seeds for future research and conservation use.  The project is building the conservation capacity of INIA through the training of a horticultural technician to undertake activities and the provision of a database to capture on-going and previous research information. 

During the first year of the project two of the five prioritized species, Dalea azurea (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae; Critically Endangered) and Placea lutea (Amaryllidaceae; Rare), have been successfully propagated by seed and vegetatively.  For the other three species low germination percentages were obtained: 12% for Tigridia phillipiana (Iridaceae; Rare), and 29% and 4% for Adesmina resinosa (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae; Vulnerable) and A. balsamica (Rare), respectively.

Further research will need to be carried out in order to successfully propagate these species and to produce the required amount of seeds for their conservation.

Seed Bank at INIA, Vicuña, Chile

Dalea azurea

Ana Sandoval, horticultural technician, has been trained in plant propagation techniques by Kew's Richard Wilford

• For more information see our partners website INIA