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Mary Fuqua Botanic
Gardens: A Safe Haven for Endangered
Begonias
by Mary Fuqua
The 2004 international Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species lists 48 species of
Begonia among the 8321 threatened
species from the plant kingdom. The level of
threat ranges from vulnerable to critically
endangered. Three Begonia species are
in the latter category:
B. asympeltata (Ecuador), B.
pelargoniiflora (Cameroon and Equatorial
Guinea), and B. salaziensis
(Mauritius). The real number of threatened
species is certainly far higher than the
numbers cited. The Red List is a work in
progress. Although the IUCN has been
assessing species for four decades, only the
assessment of conifers and cycads is
considered complete. Estimates of the actual
number of endangered plants range from 3to
10 times the number cited in the 2004 list.
Thus by the most conservative multiplier,
150 of our described Begonia species
may be threatened or extinct. The number of
unidentified and undiscovered species under
threat or already extinct is unknown.
Scott Hoover’s unexpected discovery of the
supposedly lost B. atricha reminds us
that botanic gardens and nurseries can
provide a safe haven for threatened plants.
For years, plant collectors have deposited
their finds at Kew, BG, Montreal and other
western botanic gardens. Today, botanic
gardens around the world, many of them
recently established, are taking
responsibility to conserve the species of
their own region or nation through
coordinated programs of species recovery and
preservation. Model programs include the
U.S. National Tropical Botanical Garden
Conservation Department, which has
established a Genetic Safety. Net and a
native plant nursery for Hawaiian species.
The University of Tokyo Botanical Gardens
have undertaken the ex situ preservation of
90 species endemic to the Pacific Island of
Bonin, a place where over one fourth of the
vascular plant species found on the island
are endemics. At San Miguel de Allende,
Guanajuato, Mexico, the botanic garden of El
Charco del In genio is dedicated to the
conservation of endangered Mexican species
and is building a collection based on cacti
and other succulents.
Readers of this Newsletter will want to know
who is protecting Begonias. In
Indonesia, the Cibodas Botanic Garden is
building a living collection of native
wild-documented accessions from the forests
near the garden, including Begonia.
in China, the Lijiang Alpine Botanic Garden
in Yunnan Province, together with the
Kunming Institute of Botany, have partnered
with Kew Botanic Gardens to establish a
comprehensive pro gram for biodiversity
research and protection in South west China,
an area known as the richest zone for
flowering plants and biodiversity in, the
northern hemi sphere. Collection of
Begonia for taxonomic research and
preservation is said to have been in
progress there for some time.
That the list of gardens harboring
Begonia species of their region is short
is not welcome news. On the other hand,
though the list of safe havens for
Begonia is not long, these worldwide
initiatives for ex situ preservation and
their growing record of success are indeed
important news for the protection of Begonia
species. As a pan-genus, ex situ
preservation in the many countries where
they grow wild is a promising strategy for
protection of Begonia. The model is
up and running. The next step is to extend
it to Begonia.
Note:
I welcome information on other gardens with
Begonia conservation programs. I also
encourage readers to consult the Red List at
www.redlist.org
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