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Frequency of Desiccation Tolerance in Targeted Taxa, including Palms: Ecological Associations and Predictions

Germinating seed of Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (Arecaceae), an endangered Mauritian palm

This project is one of a series in the theme ‘Post harvest technology’.

Certain families are recognised as hotspots for recalcitrant (desiccation sensitive) seeds, e.g. Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Arecaceae. Of particular concern are the conservation prospects for the Arecaceae (palms), which are considered to have the highest proportion of species at risk of being committed to extinction by 2050, primarily as a function of a few factors, including: 1) critically low population sizes in the wild (e.g. Hyophorbe lagenicaulis);  2) overharvesting (the market for palm products involves billions of pounds per annum);  and 3) climate change (long life-cycle species). Thus, there is a compelling need to assess the ex situ seed conservation options for palms and other targeted families, particularly those with woody species (see Annex). In 2002, the Seed Information Database included information on only about 100 palms out of c. 2,300 species, i.e. 5 % of the family. One study, Seminum Palmarum, aims to: 1) develop a rapid test for seed desiccation tolerance (and other seed traits);  2) apply the test to 200 species in 5 years; and 3) propose a predictive model for seed storage by mapping seeds traits against habitat and phylogeny. By 2005, approximately 150 species had been investigated and trait mapping against the molecular and morphological super-tree started. About 30 species have already been grown on by HPE and forwarded to the main site for verification of species names and for educational use and public display in the Palm and Temperate Houses.

Related studies are now being progressed on representatives of Theaceae and Fagaceae from the Yunnan flora. Finally, opportunistic studies are being progressed on collections arriving at the WTMB that are judged to be of high risk for conservation processing, as assessed against the Seed Information Database, seed morphology and size. Such studies add to baseline data on seed biology traits, as exemplified in our recent publications on > 50 species.  See Annex 2 for the 6 information products from this project and how the project relates to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

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